AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine
(Image: AAP/James Ross)

As the Pfizer vaccine rollout extends to younger age brackets and many holdouts finally come forward for a jab, the under-40s who had already received AstraZeneca are sitting on their high horses.

A subtle sense of perceived moral superiority can be seen among those who signed up for the out-of-favour vax counter to health advice. You could even say AZ is trendy among young people. 

How does a vaccine become cool? Like most things in life, when you tell someone not to do something they’ll want to do it more. If you tell someone a behaviour is risky, they’ll want to prove they’re not afraid. 

Getting AZ carries with it a number of subtle, but desirable, messages. The recipient is highly rational and able to assess risks without succumbing to fear mongering. They’re happy to accept risk and even go against official health advice. Essentially they’re bold, independent thinkers — and a little edgy. And, finally, they care about the public good and doing their bit. This selflessness permits them a “humble brag” on social media in the name of spreading messages of vaccine confidence. 

This newfound status is a rather humorous pivot, given that not so long ago the name AstraZeneca equalled blood clots and death. Even once the minuscule risks were explained and contextualised, the older generation still wasn’t biting, and it looked like the AZ campaign was tainted beyond recovery.

But when under-40s were given the go-ahead to request the AZ from their GPs, counter to the government’s vaccine advisory group ATAGI’s advice at the time, a new wave of youth-driven AZ support was born. The “vaxxie” took off in Australia, with young journos on Twitter being among the first to share selfies receiving the AZ jab. 

And soon enough the AZ bandwagon gained a sense of moral authority; its ample supply made it the more ethical choice, and the vaccine that was once shunned was now the subject of bragging rights for its recipients. The 20-somethings who managed to get their hands on Pfizer were soon looked at with thinly veiled disdain — they’d taken the easy route. I’ve heard someone describe a Pfizer recipient as “too chicken” to get AZ. 

This all sounds rather negative, but I’ll confess I am one of the young ’uns who got their first shot of AZ in July and, yes, I did post about it on Instagram. 

I think it’s the right thing to do, but I have to acknowledge that this perceived trendiness may have encouraged my decision. When I told a friend I was writing this article, he agreed the trend was real. He even changed his Facebook display picture to tell the world he had taken the plunge with the AZ. 

There’s no such thing as a selfless good deed, but if this unlikely trend is what it took to get uptake of the AZ vaccine, then so be it.  Whatever gets the job done.  

As for how the vaccine that is most commonly accepted across the globe became a “fringe” vaccine in Australia is a question for ATAGI, government officials and the media, but I suspect that “I got the AZ” will be a statement that holds some weight for at least a few years.