Thanks to a new study, more details are available about the well-known issue of blood clots associated with the COVID vaccine developed by AstraZeneca. The authorities and doctors continue to have a lot of faith in the coronavirus vaccines, in general.
Scientists from the Massachusetts Medical Society analyzed 220 cases from the UK of the blood clotting complications associated with AstraZeneca’s vaccine, according to CNBC.com. They have some interesting conclusions.
The blood clots remain “extremely rare”
Some people who choose to get vaccinated for COVID with AstraZeneca’s jab develop blood clots. Their number remains pretty low, as health authorities describe the condition as “extremely rare”.
Data from 294 patients were used, and they presented to UK hospitals from March 22 to June 6. From these individuals, 170 of them were definite cases of rare clotting, while 50 were at only a “probable” level. The patients received the first dose of a vaccine developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca.
The rare blood clotting was referred by scientists as vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT). According to the new study, the overall death rate for VITT was 22%.
41% of those patients showing VITT didn’t have any diagnosed underlying health issues.
As quoted by CNBC.com, the scientists wrote:
Against the backdrop of a successful vaccination program in the United Kingdom, VITT has emerged as a rare but devastating complication,
We have found that it often affects young, otherwise healthy vaccine recipients and that it is associated with a high mortality.
In our cohort, 85% of the patients were younger than 60 years of age, despite the predominance of (Oxford/AstraZeneca) vaccination in older adults.
AstraZeneca said in a recent statement that the new research was drawn from a small sample size. A spokesperson said as once again cited by CNBC.com:
Recent real-world evidence drawn from millions of individuals shows that AstraZeneca’s vaccine has a comparable safety profile with other vaccines and that incidences of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia are extremely rare and treatable.
The new study was peer-reviewed and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
