No feared huge escalation of COVID infections in NSW

The premier of Australia's most populous state said Wednesday that 22 new locally transmitted coronavirus cases had been recorded overnight, but added that fears about a huge rise in infections hadn't materialized.

New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters the numbers had remained steady and that 11 of the cases were in isolation for the duration of their infectious period.

Also Wednesday, Queensland state officials advised adults under the age of 40 not to take the AstraZeneca COVID-19 jab due to the risk of rare blood clots, even though the Australian government has made those shots available to all adults.

"I do not think this is the time to risk the safety of our young Australians when the U.K. will not even allow their under-40s to get the AstraZeneca vaccine," said Anastacia Palszczuk, Queensland's premier.

The state's chief health officer Jeannette Young instead urged younger adults to wait for the Pfizer vaccine to become available, citing an unfavourable risk-benefit ratio.

This comes after Australia's federal government on Monday decided to make AstraZeneca available to all adults and to indemnify doctors who administer it against lawsuits as concerns grew about clusters of the delta variant, which is thought to be more contagious.

Australian authorities still say Pfizer is the preferred option for people younger than 60.

Around half of Australia's population is in lockdown in Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and the Northern Territory due to new clusters, mostly of the delta variant.