AstraZeneca has a new name in Australia - and it’s not why you think
With warnings of rare blood clots and a longer waiting period between jabs, the AstraZeneca vaccination has struggled to reach the acceptance and demand the Pfizer vaccine has since being rolled out in Australia.
But now, it's set for a rebrand.
Despite some thinking that the name change was a way to curb vaccine hesitancy among apprehensive Aussies, that's not the case.
AstraZeneca will soon be renamed 'Vaxzevria', to match what it's called in Europe, in an effort to make it easier for the vaccination to be recognised internationally.
Rebrand to create uniform branding across the globe
The company asked the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to approve the rebrand, saying it is to ensure the AstraZeneca vaccine is recognised internationally, in preparation for when international borders open and we can (one day) travel again.
The name change aims to make it easier for Australians to have their vaccination status recognised overseas.
Me toooo. I got my second dose this afternoon. Was it still called AstraZeneca at 2.15pm WA time? Or had it switched to Vaxzevria? I might just be one of the very first people in the country to have had a heterologous AstraZeneca + Vaxzevria vax combo!
— Chelsea Morning (@Chels_E_Morning) August 19, 2021
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In a statement released on Thursday, the company said the vaccine will now be known as Vaxzevria to bring it in line with other regulatory bodies.
“The brand name Vaxzevria has now been registered for use in Australia for AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine,” it read.
So, AZ is changing its brand name to Vaxzevria.
I can only presume it's part of a ploy to score a LOT of points in Scrabble.— Alex Kidman (@alexkidman) August 19, 2021
“Use of the Vaxzevria brand name should help simplify international travel for people vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s vaccine.
“The vaccine has previously received emergency authorisation from the World Health Organisation. As such Vaxzevria, including Vaxzevria produced at CSL in Australia, is a valid vaccination for travel in Europe.”
picturing a 'Parks & Rec' H2Flow style ad campaign for AstraZeneca now it's been rebranded as Vaxzevria https://t.co/GCV8UGKwsk
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) August 19, 2021
Big changes announced for vaccine rollout in Australia
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the expansion of the Pfizer vaccine rollout to 16 to 39 -year-olds on Thursday afternoon, confirming an additional 8.6 million Australians will be eligible for Pfizer at the end of the month.
Until now, Australians under 40 have been ineligible to receive the Pfizer jab but have been able to access AstraZeneca with permission from their GP.
"We agreed today and the cabinet met today to affirm that we will be moving to opening up to 16 to 39 -year-olds for the balance of the program, and intend that to commence on 30 August,” he said.
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