Europe’s medicines regulator – EMA (European Medicines Agency) – has finally found a possible link between AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine and severe blood clots in some people who have received doses. In spite of that, the EMA insists that the blood clotting is very rare and says the benefits of getting the shot still outweigh its risks.
In reaching its conclusion, the EMA safety committee concluded on Wednesday (7 Apr, 2021) that unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should be listed as very rare side effects of Vaxzevria (formerly Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca). Hence, EMA is reminding healthcare professionals and people receiving the vaccine to remain aware of the possibility of blood clots.
According to the EMA officials, most of the cases occurred in women under 60 within two weeks of receiving the Coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. Apparently, the blood clots occurred in veins in the brain (cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, CVST) and the abdomen (splanchnic vein thrombosis) and in arteries.
Researchers actually still have no idea what specifically causing the blood clots. The only explanation for the combination of blood clots and low blood platelets is an immune response caused by the vaccine, leading to a condition similar to the one seen sometimes in patients treated with heparin (heparin induced thrombocytopenia, HIT).
The U.K.’s medicine regulator has also identified a possible link between the vaccine and blood clots. And like the EMA, the Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) also stopped short of recommending a halt to the use of the vaccine, saying the benefits of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine outweighed the risks for most people.
Dr June Raine, MHRA chief executive, said – “Anyone who has symptoms four days after vaccination or more should seek prompt medical advice – a new onset of a severe or persistent headache or blurred vision, shortness of breath, chest pain, leg swelling, persistent abdominal pain or indeed unusual skin bruising or pin-point spots beyond the injection site.”
But unlike the Europe’s regulator, the U.K.’s regulator has adopted a more cautious approach, recommending instead that healthy adults under 30 to get a different Covid-19 vaccine if possible. A trial in Britain for children using the AstraZeneca vaccination has been suspended. Up till March 24, there had been 22 reports of CVST and 8 reports of other thrombosis in the U.K.
The British authorities, while acknowledging the benefits outweighed the risks in most age groups, has data that showed the vaccine offered only slightly higher benefits than risks for people under 30 in scenarios where people’s exposure to the virus is limited (such as those working from home). Therefore, people within the age below 30 have to decide whether they still wanted AstraZeneca vaccine.
Interestingly, as recently as March 31, the Europe EMA was still insisting that it had found the vaccine to be safe and effective. AstraZeneca too said its studies have found no higher risk of blood clots as a result of its vaccine. But after 18 deaths in 62 cases of clotting in the sinuses that drain blood from the brain, and 24 cases of clotting in the abdomen, the EMA was forced to change its mind.
The EMA’s latest decision was also influenced by Marco Cavaleri, chair of the EMA’s vaccine evaluation team, who said there is a clear “association” between AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine and rare blood clots in the brain. In an interview, Cavaleri said – “In my opinion, it is clear that there is an association with the vaccine. However, we still do not know what causes this reaction.”
Previously, besides Thailand, the first Southeast Asia country to suspend AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, more than a dozen European countries had halted the jab, including Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Austria, Italy, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia. Some countries have since resumed the vaccination after a short period of suspension.
Germany, France, the Netherlands and Canada had restricted the vaccine’s use only to older people. While Germany and Netherlands have limited use of the shot to people over 60, France has resumed use of the vaccine to people aged 55 and over. Canada has suspended the AstraZeneca vaccine to people aged below 55 to allow a new analysis of the benefits and risks.
Finland and Sweden have resumed the use of the jab for seniors aged 65 and above. Denmark, on the other hand, has extended the AstraZeneca suspension for another 3 weeks until April 18 while the Danish officials continue evaluating a potential link with blood clots. Similarly, Norway too followed Denmark with an extension of its initial suspension until April 15.
The different recommendations from the European and Britain medicines watchdogs will add to more confusion. To make matters worse, on Thursday (April 8), British Health Secretary Matt Hancock reiterated that the vaccines currently in use in the U.K., Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca, including the newly available Moderna vaccine, remained “safe”.
While AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine has 76% efficacy, the growing concerns over the jab triggering blood clots could jeopardize immunization campaigns across the world. That’s because COVAX, the global initiative to develop and distribute Covid-19 vaccines to lower income countries, is highly reliant on the vaccine because it’s cheaper than shots from Pfizer and Moderna.
Other Articles That May Interest You …
- After Europe, Thailand Becomes The First Asian Country To Suspend AstraZeneca-Oxford Vaccine Over Fears Of Blood Clots
- Sinopharm And Sinovac – Should You Trust Any Of These Chinese Covid-19 Vaccines?
- South Africa Suspends “Ineffective” Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine – Plans To Sell It And Use J&J Instead
- Before You Rush For Covid-19 Vaccine, Remember This – You Can’t Sue Anyone If Suffer Any Serious Side Effects
- Forget UK’s Covid-19 Variant – This South African Coronavirus Variant Is Deadlier And Can Spread Even Faster
- Mistake Or Cheating? – AstraZeneca-Oxford Admits Manufacturing Error In Its Vaccine Effectiveness Results
- Moderna Reveals Covid Vaccine – Here’s How This 94.5% Effective Vaccine Differs From Pfizer’s Vaccine
- Coronavirus – Here’s How China Is Back To Normal While The U.S. And Europe Are Getting From Bad To Worse
- Russia Reveals “Sputnik V” – But Scientists Condemn The Coronavirus Vaccine As Risky, Dangerous & Could Backfire
- 3 Coronavirus Variants Discovered – Surprisingly, “Type-A” Found In Americans, Wuhan’s Type-B And Type-C In Europe
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April 8th, 2021 by financetwitter
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Yet another of many reasons for our panicky and kiasi monkeys to work their gross fear of death!
It is not a simple case of 1 in a million who would get blood clot. It can be many many more, chance does not work in any definite manner, it can be hundreds who may get blood clot – or even thousands. Worse than that, it can be much more than just blood clot that someone vaccinated can be exposed to, patients have been known to be hit – or killed in other ways, too. Statistics given cannot be precise, nor any “positive” news given by manufacturers or gomens, trusted.
It can be how you are blessed or cursed with a deity, many deities, chance, luck, fate, and what you may. If you can blessed, then fine if you’ve gone through the whole course – otherwise, you can still be hit the second round! Don’t forget our moron clowns can get the second vaccine wrong, the rojak mix-up can cause its own delightful results, you could still be hit, you might even kick the bucket through a mistake!
If you’ve got the blessed AZ vaccine, you are blessed with living in fear at some point you could be hit without being hit by an infection of Covid, the vaccine gets you instead, Ameen!
If you are the panicky and kiasi type, the panic and the sheer fear of possible death may even kill you – even if the vaccine does not (I mean, in the first course, the first round). I know a few kiasu who rushed to get vaccinated, now they have plenty to be panicky and kiasi about. Some have even jumped queue because they have a datuk title or something as bad, now they are putting all their energy regretting their typical kiasu behaviour, they live in fear they may have jumped the queue to die. Either from the vaccine – or from having to live in utter fear they may kick the bucket, the suspense can kill.
Don’t take what I say too religiously, I am merely highlighting my observation of the crass beliefs and behaviour of our typical paranoid, panicky, kiasi – and kiasu monkeys.
Some of you may be lucky, you survive death – although you may turn into a vegetable because if the wonderful experimental vaccines (all of them) don’t kill, they could still disable you and make the miserable lives of your loved ones even more miserable having to hang around your bed – or having to cart you around in a wheelchair while you are oblivious to anything, including remembering to be panicky, paranoid, kiasi and kiasu – on top of being generally a fcuking typical awful, dull, dumbfcuk, miserable Malaysian to others – and yourself. All while our arseh*le politicians and gomens make you miserable…
However you are going to take what I say, the manufacturer and gomens have admitted to the (additional) bad news of “blood clots”. This usually means it is worse than bad news because both manufacturer/s and gomens would not admit to anything and delay bad news until it becomes overripe and unmanageable.
The latest (other) revelation is the virus can cause pretty serious mental illnesses either if you get hit or even if you don’t, the studied group of Yanks have shown that there’s quite a big number who’s gone to the cuckoos’ nests. But these are Yanks and Yanks do suffer from a big range of mental illnesses, anyway, so it doesn’t really matter: if you are mentally-ill, you are always the very last to know anything. That also means you will be okay as Malaysians. Having the mentality of the panicky, paranoid, kiasi, and kiasu already means you are mentally ill. But then again, by just being Malaysian, you can also get ill mentally…
Well, if you are still around to read what I write, best of luck with your second round of vaccination – there’s already words out you can get endless rounds of vaccinations – probably meaning until you can’t take no more… I am not intending to get vaccinated, there’s no point. You can still be infected if you are vaccinated. You can still kick the bucket from being infected – or become incapacitated. You can still be a carrier of the virus. So, the next best you can do is simply remain panicky, kiasi, paranoid and all that…
You will still be the typical Malaysian loser monkey either you are vaccinated or not. So, there’s no point getting vaccinated – even with the “right” vaccine. The message is a vaccine can get you even if Covid doesn’t… Alhamdulilah..!