The Latest: Australia raises AstraZeneca safety age to 60

Five bottles of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are placed at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, June 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

FILE- In this Sunday, May 24, 2020 file photo crowds of people gather at Coconuts Caribbean Beach Bar & Grill in Gravois Mills, Mo. Several counties in southern Missouri are seeing a big rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Those areas include Branson and Lake of the Ozarks, which are popular among tourists. (Shelly Yang/The Kansas City Star via AP)

In this March 14, 2020 file photo, Royal Caribbean International cruise ship docked at PortMiami, among other cruise ships, as the world deals with the coronavirus outbreak in Miami. Royal Caribbean is postponing the initial voyages by one of its cruise ships after eight crew members tested positive for COVID-19. The company said Wednesday, June 16, 2021, that the Odyssey of the Seas' first trip is being pushed back from July 3 to July 31. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia has raised the age for which the AstraZeneca vaccine is recommended to 60 from 50 after the shot was blamed for a 52-year-old woman’s death last week from blood clots in the brain.

Health Minister Greg Hunt described the decision on Thursday as conservative and reflecting the relatively low risk of catching the virus in Australia.

Australians aged between 50 and 59 are now recommended to use the only other vaccine approved in Australia, Pfizer.

Only two deaths in Australia have been blamed on rare blood clots believed caused by AstraZeneca. The first was a 48-year-old woman who died in April.

That death led to AstraZeneca being recommended only to adults aged over 50.

People who have had their first AstraZeneca shot without developing clots have been told it is safe to have the second dose three months later.

The government hopes to have the Moderna vaccine approved for use in Australia soon and to keep to its timetable of having a vaccine available to every adult who wants one by the end of the year.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— Why are the Olympics going on despite public, medical warnings?

— In world's poorest countries, surge combines with vaccine shortage

— Get a jab, win a condo: Hong Kong tries vaccine incentives

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Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand has detailed plans for the main part of its vaccine rollout.

The country of 5 million has been among the most successful in keeping out the virus but has been slow to vaccinate its people, with just 11% receiving their first dose so far.

Under the plan announced Thursday by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, people aged 60 and over will be offered vaccines from July 28, those 55 and over from Aug. 11, and those aged 45 and over by late August. After that, the plan is to offer everybody vaccinations by the year’s end.

Also on Thursday, Statistics New Zealand reported the economy had grown by 1.6% in the March quarter, allowing the country to avoid a double-dip coronavirus recession after the economy fell by 1% in the last quarter of 2020. Annual GDP fell by 2.3%.

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O’FALLON, Mo. — A swath of southern Missouri is seeing a big rise in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations at just the wrong time — as tourists eager to get out after being cooped up for a year make their way to popular destinations like Branson and Lake of the Ozarks.

Data from the state health department’s COVID-19 dashboard on Wednesday showed 206 people hospitalized with the virus in southwestern Missouri — nearly double the 111 hospitalizations from that region at the start of May. The number of people in intensive care units in the region has tripled — from 22 a month-and-a-half ago to 65 now. Meanwhile, statewide hospitalizations have remained steady since March.

Health experts cite two factors driving the surge: The presence of the faster-spreading Delta variant, and a reluctance among residents to get vaccinated.

While 52.6% of Americans have initiated vaccination, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most southern Missouri counties are well short of 40%. Branson sits in Taney and Stone counties, where the vaccination rates as of Wednesday were 27.4% and 28.4% respectively. Miller County, at Lake of the Ozarks, had a vaccination rate of 22.9%.

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MIAMI — Royal Caribbean International is postponing for nearly a month one of the highly anticipated first sailings from the U.S. since the pandemic began because eight crew members tested positive for COVID-19, the company’s CEO said.

The new Odyssey of the Seas was to set sail from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on July 3 but is now postponed to July 31. Royal Caribbean International’s CEO Michael Bayley said late Tuesday on Facebook that the decision had been made “out of an abundance of caution,” adding that the company is also rescheduling a simulation cruise scheduled for late June.

The company says all 1,400 employees aboard the Odyssey of the Seas were vaccinated on June 4 but two weeks had not passed for their bodies to build protection against the virus. The ship was to sail from Fort Lauderdale July 3 but has been rescheduled for July 31.

Royal Caribbean International has said that passengers are “strongly recommended” to get vaccinated, adding that unvaccinated passengers must be tested for the virus and follow other measures.

The debut of the Odyssey of the Seas was highly anticipated as cruise lines attempt a comeback after more than 15 months of not sailing from the U.S.

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RICHMOND, Va. — An inmate early release program aimed at controlling the spread of the coronavirus in Virginia prisons will end on July 1.

State prison officials have released more than 2,100 inmates early in the past year to reduce the prison population during the pandemic. The program was authorized under a budget amendment proposed by Gov. Ralph Northam and approved by state lawmakers in April 2020. The authorization expires on July 1.

Department of Corrections Director Harold Clarke says about 70% of the inmate population has been vaccinated against COVID-19. There are no current cases among the population. A total of 56 inmates and five staff members who tested positive for the coronavirus have died during the pandemic.

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LISBON, Portugal — Portugal is experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases, with the government set to review its pandemic rules on Thursday.

The European Union country reported 1,350 new cases on Wednesday, the highest daily total since February. Experts say the delta variant first identified in India may be driving the spread. The Lisbon region has accounted for almost 1,000 of the new cases.

Portugal was the worst-hit country in the world in January, when daily cases peaked at more than 16,000. Nearly 7,000 COVID-19 patients were in the hospital and close to 1,000 were in ICUs. Now, hospitals have 351 virus patients, with 83 in intensive care.

A nation of 10.3 million people, Portugal has inoculated 42% of its population with a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 25% have had both shots.