Blood Clotting Risk Significantly Higher For COVID-19 Patients Than For Vaccinated People

Blood clotting represented an extremely rare side effect reported in some people after taking the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. This led to increased skepticism regarding the safety of the vaccines. However, a new study reveals that blood clotting risks are significantly higher for those infected with Coronavirus.

The study was conducted by a team of researchers from Oxford University, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and other British organizations. Data were analyzed from 29 million persons who were vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca. The study discovered that the chances of suffering from thromboembolic events for people who tested positive for COVID-19 were” substantially higher” compared to those who received the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine.

“People should be aware of these increased risks after Covid-19 vaccination and seek medical attention promptly if they develop symptoms, but also be aware that the risks are considerably higher and over longer periods of time if they become infected with SARS-CoV-2,” Julia Hippisley-Cox, professor of clinical epidemiology.

The research revealed that 107 out of 10 million people were hospitalized or died after the AstraZeneca vaccine, while that number increased to 934 out of 10 million for those infected with COVID-19. In the case of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, 143 people out of 10 million became hospitalized or died of an ischaemic stroke, compared to 1699 out of 10 million people in the case of those who had tested positive for COVID.

“This enormous study has shown that there is a very small risk of clotting and other blood disorders following first dose Covid-19 vaccination. Though serious, the risk of these same outcomes is much higher following SARS-CoV-2 infection,” added Aziz Sheikh, professor of primary care research & development at The University of Edinburgh and co-author of the study.