Pfizer vaccine link to clot case

QUEENSLAND health authorities will investigate any potential link between the Pfizer vaccine and a man who presented at a private hospital with blood clots just days after receiving the jab.

The 40-year-old man, believed to be a police officer and frontline worker responsible for patrolling Queensland quarantine hotels, received the Pfizer shot on Sunday, 9 News reported.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said health officials would look into the matter.

“It’s too early to say if this incident is linked to the Pfizer vaccine,” Mr Miles said on Wednesday. “Clearly, our authorities will be looking into whether there is a link; looking to see whether it can help inform that vaccine rollout.

“What people should be very confident in, though, is our medical authorities are keen to investigate any such incident and provide information and data nationally and internationally.”

A spokesman for the Department of Health reiterated Mr Miles’s comments.

“We take all reports of adverse reactions very seriously and they are reviewed through the appropriate channels,” a statement from the department read.

Three cases of thrombosis with a low platelet count had been reported in Australia before Wednesday’s development, with a 48-year-old woman dying in a NSW hospital last week after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Australia’s drugs regulator, the TGA, determined the death of the 48-year-old diabetic woman, who developed blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, was likely to be linked to the jab.

TGA said the case had been “complicated by the patient’s underlying medical conditions, including diabetes, some other medical conditions as well as some atypical features”.

Two other rare blood clot syndrome cases in Australia were also “likely” to be linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine, which included a 44-year-old Melbourne man who developed the syndrome earlier in April. The first two cases remain in hospital but are recovering well.

The AstraZeneca vaccine remains approved for use in Australia because the risk of developing blood clots is extremely small.

However, the clots prompted the federal government's health advice to change earlier this month to favour the Pfizer vaccine over AstraZeneca for a large portion of the population.

The government accepted advice the risk of blood clots associated with AstraZeneca meant it should not be given to people younger than 50.