Sure, for any individual the risk of the AZ side effect (thrombosis+thrombocytopenia) is low (3 per 100,000 for the <50 age group [1]). But in Australia, the risk of catching COVID and dying is/was even lower, especially for the <50 age group (6 deaths out of 16 million so far).
I know I'm ignoring many of the nuances here (long COVID, mortality risk of thrombocytopenia, externalities of higher vaccination rates), but it's clearly not a slam dunk to just jab everyone in in Australia with AZ if they're not supply constrained. Many European nations came to a similar conclusion (banning AZ for the younger age groups) even when at much higher COVID incidence rates.
I know I'm ignoring many of the nuances here (long COVID, mortality risk of thrombocytopenia, externalities of higher vaccination rates), but it's clearly not a slam dunk to just jab everyone in in Australia with AZ if they're not supply constrained. Many European nations came to a similar conclusion (banning AZ for the younger age groups) even when at much higher COVID incidence rates.
[1] https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-...