On Monday, March 15, a number of European countries announced the suspension of vaccination against coronavirus with the vaccination of the Swedish-British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, developed in conjunction with the University of Oxford (also known as the “Oxford” vaccine). The authorities referred to the need to study dangerous health disorders that were noted in several dozen patients. We are talking about the occurrence of blood clots in the blood vessels, which can be fatal. Alas, in some cases it was not possible to avoid it – for example, on March 7, a vaccinated nurse in Austria died.
The time of thrombosis coincides with the period after vaccination. As doctors say, “after” does not mean “due to”. But, since there is a possibility of a causal relationship between the injections of the drug from AstraZeneca and dangerous complications, of course, you need to carefully investigate. Until the announcement of their results, vaccination has been suspended in Germany, Italy, Spain, France and other states that have purchased the Oxford vaccine.
OFFICIAL EXPLANATIONS
Representatives of AstraZeneca assure that they have already carried out the necessary investigation. It showed that the vaccinated did not have an increased risk of blood clots compared to how often this problem occurs in people in general, without any vaccination. “Analysis of our safety data from more than 10 million medical records has shown no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis associated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine,” the company said (press release available).
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) also released a message on March 11 that “the benefits of a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in collaboration with the University of Oxford now outweigh the risks.” And the number of cases of thrombus formation does not exceed the usual level.
At the same time, on Monday, March 15, it became known that in the afternoon of March 16, a new statement by the EMA is expected on the consequences of the use of the Oxford vaccine and its safety.
OPINIONS OF MEDICAL EXPERTS
Patients with blood clots detected after vaccination have a common feature: thrombocytopenia, that is, a decrease in the number of blood cells in platelets, says Yuri Kiselev, a doctor, pharmacologist, expert on patient safety and personalized medicine, an expert on patient safety and personalized medicine, Norwegian University OsloMet, on his social media page.
“Thrombocytopenia is a long-known rare complication of vaccination (not only after anticonvulsant vaccinations!),” Aleksandr Kudryavtsev, a bioengineer, an expert in the development of pharmaceuticals, told KP. – It was described in detail, in particular, by the Canadian hematologist John Kelton (Kelton, 1981). But it should be noted that thrombocytopenia is not necessarily fatal.
And in the same way, it is not necessary that the formation of blood clots is caused by the vaccination itself, emphasizes Yuri Kiselev.
– Cases of spontaneous thrombosis and, less often, bleeding in vaccinated people were a cause for concern (for the authorities and regulatory bodies. – Ed.). A number of common features are noted: predominantly young age, low platelet count, onset of the disease in the first 14 days after vaccine administration. I must say that, in principle, the frequency of such spontaneous thrombosis (that is, in people on average – Ed.) Is quite high. So it is not at all a fact that these episodes came precisely because of the introduction of the vaccine, and did not coincide chronologically at random, the expert believes.
Molecular biologist, author of The Virus That Broke the Planet. Why is SARS-CoV-2 so special and what should we do with it? ”Irina Yakutenko also believes that those vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, most likely, will not find increased risks of blood clots.
– The numbers (statistics – Ed.) Tell us one thing: vaccinated people die from thrombotic complications as often as unvaccinated ones – that is, there is no connection between vaccination and death, – Yakutenko writes on his page in social networks. “Of course, it is necessary to continue collecting data and see how the situation develops further. But so far there are no alarming statistics on vascular pathologies that have arisen as a result (and not just after!) Of vaccinations, ”the specialist adds.
QUESTION-RIB
But what about Sputnik V?
“The vaccine from AstraZeneca is fundamentally similar to Sputnik, only chimpanzee adenovirus is used as a carrier,” recalls pharmacologist Yuri Kiselev. However, about Sputnik and other vaccines of this kind (American from Johnson & Johnson, Chinese from CanSino Biological, etc.), no official reports of thrombotic complications have been received from any country of use, the expert emphasizes.
At the same time, it should be borne in mind: the more the number of people vaccinated with one or another vaccine, the more often we will learn about rare complications, the candidate of medical sciences, an expert on development, research said on the air of the Data Transfer program on radio KP and registration of medicinal products Nikolay Kryuchkov. Any drug, including vaccines, may have complications, including dangerous ones. Open at least the instructions for aspirin! However, if the benefit outweighs the risk, the agent is allowed for mass use. For comparison: more than 20 million people have already been vaccinated with the Oxford vaccine, while Sputnik, according to the latest data, is about 7 million worldwide.
INSTEAD OF OUTPUT
– The most unpleasant thing in this whole story is that even if, according to the results of research, it is established that there is no connection between vaccination and vascular pathologies, people will have a feeling that the vaccine (any vaccine against coronavirus – Ed.) Is bad and dangerous to vaccinate. , – complains molecular biologist Irina Yakutenko.
“Even if thrombosis is indeed a side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine, its reported incidence to date is extremely low. And the risk of dying from them is many times lower than the risk of dying from covid, ”emphasizes Yuri Kiselev, a doctor, pharmacologist, expert on patient safety and personalized medicine, associate professor at the Norwegian OsloMet University.
