CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Queensland and Western Australia state governments have advised people under age 40 not to take the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine because of the risk of a rare blood clotting disorder, despite the Australian government making those shots available to all adults. The state governments’ advice to those under 40 is based on British government guidelines, while the new federal government’s position acknowledges the scarcity of the Pfizer vaccine and an urgent need to accelerate a slow national rollout. The disagreement has stoked confusion as around half Australia’s population is locked down due to new clusters. Australians have a choice of only two vaccines and locally manufactured AstraZeneca is more plentiful. Only 5% of all Australians are fully vaccinated.
