With so few virus deaths, Australians debate vaccine risks

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia has weathered the pandemic far better than many nations — recording just a single coronavirus death since last October — but its success means many Australians are not in a rush to get vaccinated and that could delay the country's return to normalcy.

Concerns are growing about the economic cost to Australia of being left behind by countries that suffered far higher death tolls, but urgently embraced vaccines and are increasingly opening up.

Most of Australia's pandemic success, after all, can be attributed to the continued closure of the isolated continent's border, something that is unlikely to change until far more than the current 6% of the population is vaccinated.

But with relatively few cases of the virus and so few deaths, many in Australia are questioning whether the slight health risks to young adults of the widely available AstraZeneca vaccine make it worth it.

It's a debate that divided politicians and medical experts this week at a time when nearly half of Australia's 26 million people are living under lockdown measures due to the emergence of new virus clusters mostly blamed on the delta variant, which is thought to be more contagious.

The AstraZeneca shot in Australia currently is recommended only for people older than 60 because of the risk of rare blood clotting in younger people. The only alternative registered in Australia is Pfizer, which unlike the locally made AstraZeneca is imported and in short supply.

AstraZeneca had been recommended for all adults until a 48-year-old Australian died from blood clots in April. The vaccine was then recommended for people older than 50 until a 52-year-old died in May.

That's more than the singe death from COVID-19 since last year, an 80-year-old man who died in April after...