Covid: Australian vaccine hesitation medical experts are concerned

 Australia's problem-free vaccine rollout has potentially stumbled - a growing dilemma for the vaccine.

A survey this week found that one-third of Australians suggest they were less likely to be vaccinated, more than the previous month.

Caution is often centered around side effects and lack of urgency to reduce the rate of infection in Australia.

But hesitation threatens to frustrate plans to open its borders, which will remain closed until mid-2022.

Countries with a population of about 2 million people have been able to stem the tide by enforcing strict border and segregation controls and implementing snap lockdowns periodically.

Australia is one of the few places in the world where the community of Kovid is not broadcast.

But in the developed world it is also one of the slowest to reduce its population.

Although the pace of rollouts has increased in recent weeks - reaching daily records - concerns about vaccine dilemmas have begun to grow in some pockets of the community.

Why are Australians hesitant?

The combination of fear and complacency about the perceived risk posed by the virus has left some Australians hesitant.

A study by the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) and Resolve Strategic found that those who doubted the vaccine were most concerned about possible side effects, and did not feel they knew enough about the vaccine.

The Australian rollout was delayed after regulators advised limiting it to rare blood clots associated with the Astrogena shot - the country's main vaccine.

It now recommends that people under the age of 50 get Pfizer Jab instead.

What are my risks with AstraZeneca Jab?

A separate survey released this month by the Australian National University (ANU) also found high levels of concern surrounding side effects.

Identifying nearly 3,000 participants, ANU discovered that most people would receive a safe and effective vaccine, but 10 out of 10 in Australia were concerned about eight possible side effects.

Professor Nicholas Biddle said that more than 50% of people who said they would not get the vaccine "made their decision based on recent reports about the AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots."

As seen in ANU, women, non-English speakers and people from outside the city are probably hesitant.

Australia's isolation is another matter, some distance from Covid Jab.

The SMH survey found that 21% of respondents felt an urgent need to be vaccinated while the Australian border was closed.