Astra Zeneca Vaccine

The concern about blood clots is, as has been mentioned, the extremely rare type of blood clot events that have occurred in a small minority of younger people, and I think it is obviously right that this is investigated. In weighing up the very small risk of taking the AZ vaccine, I believe that if I refuse the vaccine and am infected with C19 I will be much more at risk from blood clotting caused by the infection than I would be from the vaccine.

I think it is very disheartening for the scientists that rare events are sensationalised in the media, and the risk factors not explained and properly understood.

Alegrias1

OK, why don't you phone up the NHS and tell them that Kandinsky? Tell them to scrap the millions and millions of AZ vaccines we have in stock or on order. And so slow down the vaccination effort. And so expose thousands of people to Covid when they don't need to be exposed. And have more people die of Covid than need to. So that we can avoid the tiny chance of rare blood clots in younger people.

Yeah, that'll work. I'm going to assume you are being intentionally provocative.

? mind you the way this government wastes our hard earned money, nothing would surprise me.

When sensible countries like Denmark and Norway paused because of blood clots, many GNers scoffed -now the shoe’s on the other foot and there’s understanding of being cautious and criticism of media reporting. No one seems to have picked up n my point that JCVI are not handling this well either various members giving interviews ‘in a personal capacity’. I also think the whole issue is being communicated badly at the centre.

Definitely bad communication. How many young women take the contraceptive pill, injection or implant? If you read the information sheet inside any medication (even over the counter products) they have to give you every worse case scenario of possible side effects. The yearly flu jab or any holiday required vaccinations/medications can cause problems.

The risk of dying or having serious long term effects from Covid-19 are still far greater than developing a clot with any of the vaccines.

I am still happy for any of my off-spring to have the second dose of AZ as is my DH who has previous history of TIA and is in medication. I had the Pfizer vaccine and eagerly await my second dose.

Contraceptive pills cause blood clots. Should we stop them being prescribed? Long journeys also dangerous for DVTs. Best stop them too. Or, alternatively, get a grip!

Just read that the GN pin up JVT is leading a televised briefing on this topic at 3pm today. Good.

Whilst I remain critical of JCVI I have sympathy for MHRA ( as I did for the other national regulators who paused because of the blood clot issue). Because we live in a leakey sieve, there was no way it could be kept quiet that MHRA were carrying out an investigation - and part of me thinks it shouldn’t have hidden because that would equally lead to distrust when it came out. But as you say GG the messaging ie communication should have been better handled. Sadly there’ll be some negative effects whatever MHRA rules. In the end it will all come down to balancing the risks won’t it? And luckily there are other vaccines which may be more suitable if necessary.

Aveline

Just read that the GN pin up JVT is leading a televised briefing on this topic at 3pm today. Good.

Just what I suggested?

Interesting speaker on the Vanessa Feltz program on Radio 2 just now ( don't judge me )

Trying to show the difference between the extremely rare type of blood clot we're talking about with AZ, as Greeneyedgirl said above, and "normal" blood clots that happen all the time. He said that the blood clots we're worried about are so rare that they don't even have data on how likely they are in the normal population without vaccines, and he had a proposal about how the vaccine could be causing the clots. But said over and over again, its still much, much safer to have the vaccine than COVID-19, although that needs to be looked at in the younger cohorts where the risk of Covid is so much lower.

I think the JCVI need to get their act together. Acting "in a personal capacity" when it is such an important thing, is not on.

suziewoozie

Aveline

Just read that the GN pin up JVT is leading a televised briefing on this topic at 3pm today. Good.

Just what I suggested?

You're not his mum, are you?

Johnathan, get on the telly, your country needs you!

Aveline

Contraceptive pills cause blood clots. Should we stop them being prescribed? Long journeys also dangerous for DVTs. Best stop them too. Or, alternatively, get a grip!

You are missing the important point that the blood clots in question are a very specific kind which is why there is ‘concern’.

Kandinsky

I don’t know what the problem is?
Just scrap the AZ vaccine and give people the other vaccines that haven’t been linked to these rare blood clots.

Are you actually being serious? Without the vaccines we would be in total lockdown for the foreseeable future. And there are not enough vaccines available to simply substitute with different vaccines.
Four of my children/in law children have had the AZ vaccine without ill effects, as do the vast majority of people, even when they’re female and below the age of fifty. I’m eagerly looking forward to the other two getting their vaccines, whichever one they’re offered.

Not his mum but I do have him on speed dial and he’s in one of my WA groups ?

People are scared to take the AZ vaccine of which millions of people have had with no problems. But are now happy to have the Moderna vaccine that we know little about. Does anyone know how many people have had it? It will be interesting to hear what JVT says this afternoon. They roll him out when they need someone that people trust. There gave been so few cases of these blood clots. They must surely have found some sort of common factor in the people affected other than being young and female. And why more in Germany than here? I feel that we’ve taken two steps forward and one step back. But will still have my second vaccine.

Good news on the Moderna vaccine today, the first one in Britain has been given to a 28 year old woman in Wales. It’ll be rolled out in the rest of the UK in the next few days. Maybe it could be given to young women in particular. Or would the logistics of that be too difficult?

.....people.........are now happy to have the Moderna vaccine that we know little about.

Very true it seems.

I think the Moderna vaccine has been used mainly in America Maybee.

BTW I know very well that there is a range of type and potential location of thromboses! These range from relatively common to vanishingly rare.
In other news, research is finding evidence of long term neurological damage post Covid infection and increased risk of psychiatric illness.
More reasons to take the vaccine!!

Dr John did say ages ago that different vaccines would probably be better for certain age groups. He’s usually right about most things. We’re learning as we go along aren’t we. At the start of the pandemic I would have happily had any vaccine if I thought it would help my children and grandchildren go back to having a normal life so I can’t believe how much has been achieved in such a short space of time. And anywhere that has high infection rates ends up with new, more dangerous variants. We’ve got to keep moving forward.

Oh dear, I had the virus rather badly. Some three months on I still have regular pain in my lower left lung where the Covid pneumonia was, and occasionally other lung/chest pains. I’m hoping this will gradually heal. I have improved enormously since my discharge from hospital, but it does take time.

maddyone

I think the Moderna vaccine has been used mainly in America Maybee.

Yes. It was authorised in December. However, as with the Pfizer one it has to be kept at very low temperatures. The AZ one still seems to be the only one that can be easily used in poorer countries. I thought they used it in Brazil last year with no problems?

That was in response to Aveline’s post.

Yes Maybee, I think you’re right. The AZ vaccine does seem to be an ideal candidate to be used in poorer countries. It’s also being sold at cost.

If you're older, like me (74) I really can't see what all the hoo ha is about. The stats, outlined in this thread and elsewhere, speak for themselves. FGS. Get the jab!

A couple of statistics from France. [Yes, another poster has pointed out that the stats I copied over earlier don't add up - I have just checked and they are exactly the same figs on the official French health watchdog site.]

Of the serious side-effects examined, approx only 25% were suffered by male patients - true across all three vaccines. This is not man-flu! OTOH, since the pandemic started, the gender split of deaths in France has been the other way, with 59% of deaths being men. That is really odd, because there are rather more ladies in the very high age-groups that suffered so badly.