AstraZeneca vaccine suspended in a growing number of countries is gravely concerning.
The AstraZeneca Oxford Vaccine has been suspended in a growing number of countries due to worrying side effect concerns of it causing blood clots. Denmark was the first country to suspend the use of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine when reports came in that some people were experiencing blood clots and one person died 10 days after receiving one dose. They said the suspension would last about two weeks and they were investigating if the blood clots and the AstraZeneca Oxford COVID-19 vaccine were related.
It got much worse though:
Later Norway, Bulgaria, Thailand, Iceland, and Congo all suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Norwegian health officials reported that four people who had received the vaccine had an unusually low number of blood platelets. Strangely, blood platelets are what help blood clot and low numbers of them can cause severe bleeding, which is somewhat contradictory.
Most countries did highlight the fact that this was a suspension and not a ban and they were investigating.
The UK government continued to push that people get the vaccine as quickly as possible and that there was no evidence that it was unsafe. In the UK, 11 million doses have been given of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine and no cases of blood clotting have been proved to be caused by the coronavirus vaccine.
Blood clots by themselves in the arms or legs are not particularly harmful, the issue is when these clots break off and travel through the body and block blood flow to a vital organ or the brain, which can result in a heart attack or stroke.
So far none of the cases of blood clotting have been proved via a causal relationship to be connected in any way to the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine. In the last few hours, the European Medicines Agency recently announced that for the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine they are ‘firmly convinced’ that the benefits outweigh the risks. The EMA reiterated that the number of blood clots reported in vaccinated people is no higher than seen in the general population.
Germany is one the latest countries to announce that the AstraZeneca vaccine is suspended but said “Today’s decision is a purely precautionary measure,”. The French government has also followed suit saying the AstraZeneca vaccine is suspended until Thursday.
Here are the facts so far:
AstraZeneca themselves issued a statement saying that there are 37 reports of blood clots out of 17 million people who have received the vaccine. A staggeringly small percentage. They claim that there is absolutely no evidence from the AstraZeneca clinical trials and amongst the population that the vaccine increases the risks of clots.
The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine trial was impressive, confirming 100% protection against the severe COVID-19 symptoms with protection of over 70% after the first dose. AstraZeneca clinical trials also confirmed that their vaccine reduced disease transmission by up to 67%.
The AstraZeneca vaccine side effects are mild, but they are common particularly after the first dose, whereas with the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, side effects are more common after the second dose. The AstraZeneca vaccine side effects include tenderness and pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, nausea, chills, and diarrhea. These are common after the first dose but usually subside after two days. The uncommon side effects of the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine are feeling dizzy, abdominal pain, and excessive sweating. As you can see blood clots are not listed.
So even though the AstraZeneca vaccine has been suspended in a growing number of countries, particularly in Europe, it appears to be a precautionary step and currently there is little evidence to suggest it is unsafe. However, patients with known pre-existing conditions, particularly blood and heart-related, should perhaps remain cautious.
Here’s the bottom line:
As with all the COVID-19 vaccines, we must remain cognizant that this is a new vaccine and that it hasn’t had the time to be thoroughly tested as other drugs have been due to the nature of the pandemic. There is extraordinarily little data on how the vaccine affects children and people with a variety of pre-existing conditions. There is also little data on how it may interact with the huge number of potential medications that it hasn’t been tested with.
However, vaccines do save lives and it’s most likely the only way we can get COVID-19 under control and there is very little evidence that the vaccines are harmful at the moment, so don’t worry, yet.
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Disclaimer: No part of this article constitutes medical advice; you must consult a medical professional for any concerns you have.
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By Richard Ahern – LifeLine Media
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References
1) The Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine: what you need to know: https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/the-oxford-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-what-you-need-to-know
2) Mechanism Action of Platelets and Crucial Blood Coagulation Pathways in Hemostasis: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5767294/
3) Investigation of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and thromboembolic events continues: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/investigation-covid-19-vaccine-astrazeneca-thromboembolic-events-continues
4) COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca confirms 100% protection against severe disease, hospitalisation and death in the primary analysis of Phase III trials: https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2021/covid-19-vaccine-astrazeneca-confirms-protection-against-severe-disease-hospitalisation-and-death-in-the-primary-analysis-of-phase-iii-trials.html
5) Information for UK recipients on COVID 19 Vaccine AstraZeneca: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulatory-approval-of-covid-19-vaccine-astrazeneca/information-for-uk-recipients-on-covid-19-vaccine-astrazeneca
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