Astra Zeneca vaccine blood clot links uncovered

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Some better news for Australia’s troubled vaccine rollout over the weekend. German and Norwegian scientists have isolated the links between the Astra Zeneca vaccine and blood clotting:

  • In rare cases, an autoimmune response can trigger thrombosis in the brain.
  • It is easily treatable with existing drugs.
  • Germany and France resumed their rollout but the Nordic states are waiting another week.

Meanwhile, more vaccines are coming fast, so much so that markets have begun to discuss a vaccine “glut” by mid-year. The real game-changer is the Johnson&Johnson version which is now being rolled out in the US. Why? This:

  • J&J is single shot.
  • It is robust at room temperature, resolving all logistical constraints.
  • It was developed later and included greater exposure of variants in Brazil and South Africa in testing.
  • It will deliver 100m by mid-year. One billion by year-end.
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Here’s the latest table from WHO:

Sadly, and as usual, Australia has no agreement to get the J&J vaccine into circulation. Not enough Coalition old boys employed there perhaps.

In better news, the now better understood AZ version is set to be produced locally after the TGA approved it yesterday. This has triggered some long-overdue discussion of the changing risk environment for the rollout:

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  • H2 may see shorter hotel quarantine periods for vaccinated travelers.
  • Same for quarantining at home instead of in hotels.
  • Brendan Murphy is “hopeful” international travel will normalise in 2022.

My best guess is that international travel will be booming across developed markets in 2022.

Owing to Morrison Government ineptitude, we will be last to the party.

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About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.