Nurse, 18, has clots after vax
A YOUNG trainee nurse has been hospitalised suffering severe blood clots more than three weeks after receiving the Astra Zeneca vaccine.
Ellie Peacock, 18, had her first Astra Zeneca vaccine dose on March 31, a week before authorities recommended people under 50 get the Pfizer jab.
The nursing student, who works in a casual team exposed to potential COVID-positive patients, returned to the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital on April 18 with severe throbbing and tightness in her calf.
An ultrasound failed to identify any blood clot and Ms Peacock was sent home with the pain later subsiding.
But the teenager started suffering regular headaches, ignoring them until May 7 when she experienced severe pain near her collar bone when inhaling. Two days later she went back to hospital complaining of muscle pain in her back and ribs, which a chest X-ray identified as pneumonia.
At 2am on May 11 Ms Peacock again rushed to the emergency department with severe breathing difficulties.
“I was sent home within six hours without further testing done and was told that it’s normal pain with pneumonia and that I need to put up with the pain until the medications start working,” she recalled.
Two days later a visit to her GP revealed her oxygen levels had dropped to 90 per cent, prompting her to again be sent to hospital when a low platelet count and three blood clots on her right lung were discovered.
Speaking from Redcliffe Hospital, Ms Peacock said suffering an adverse reaction to the vaccine was scary, but acknowledged she was now on the mend: “My body has improved so much.”
The teen must take bloodthinning medication and antibiotics for at least six months while having blood tests every four days and regular CT scans.
She said her adverse vaccine response did not fit the usual timeline, forcing her to convince doctors of a link.
“I just want people to listen to their bodies because no one knows it as well as yourself.”
The Therapeutic Goods Administration says adverse events occur at a rate of 6.5 per 1000 doses. Out of 2.66m doses, 17,238 reports of adverse reactions were received.