Icelandic residents who received their first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in February have been invited to receive their second dose on Thursday, RÚV reports. The group includes healthcare professionals and nursing home staff, and in many cases women born in 1967 or later, who received the dose before Icelandic authorities decided to not vaccinate younger women with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Women in this group who turn down the invitation will be offered a dose of Pfizer vaccine instead.
“It is in and of itself quite safe for these women to come,” stated Sigríður Dóra Magnúsdóttir, director of patient care at capital area health centres. The automated invitation system couldn’t separate the women belonging to this group from all others set to receive their second dose of AstraZeneca this week. “We had to call them all in again, but they decide for themselves what they do and if they don’t show up, they will receive a new invitation for Pfizer next week,” Sigríður Dóra stated.
Icelandic authorities decided this spring that women aged 55 and under would not be offered the AstraZeneca vaccine due to an increased (though extremely rare) risk of blood clots.
