Over 10-thousand people in their 30s and 40s have received leftover AstraZeneca vaccines on the first day the shots were made available again for younger age groups. 

The state vaccination task force said on Wednesday that a total of 11-thousand-651 people were given their first COVID-19 vaccine shots involving leftover or no-show AstraZeneca vaccines on Tuesday. 

Among them, around 86 percent, or 10-thousand-6, were aged between 30 and 49, including three-thousand-246 people in their 30s. 

The government recently lowered the minimum age requirement for the AstraZeneca shots from 50 to 30, reversing an earlier decision to raise the limit over concerns of possible side effects that the vaccine may cause rare blood clots in younger adults. The latest move comes as part of the government's effort to avoid wasting AstraZeneca doses left over from cancelled appointments. 

On criticism that the decision poses a risk to those in their 30s and 40s, Hong Jeong-ik, an official with the task force, stressed it is only meant provide an additional option to the existing mass inoculation program launched for the age groups in which they will receive either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.