False alarms clot fears on
HOSPITAL medics in Greater Manchester are seeing ‘up to 20’ patients a shift who wrongly believe they are suffering a rare blood clot reaction after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab.
Scientists are starting to make stronger links between the AstraZeneca jab and cases of rare blood clots. By the end of March, according to the UK drugs regulator, 79 people had suffered the complication, 19 of whom had died.
But the overall rate of post-vaccine blood clots is understood to be four per million people who have received the vaccine in the UK.
And amid a growing number of false alarms in the region’s hospitals, Carole Gavin, an A&E consultant at Salford Royal Infirmary, is reminding patients that it’s ‘extremely rare’ to suffer this severe side effect.
Dr Gavin, who is also vice president of membership at the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said medics are now being issued with fresh guidance to help them spot genuine cases.
She said: “The news around this has caused a big increase in people attending the emergency department when they have a side effect like a headache or they are feeling unwell after the vaccine.
“A lot of people think they have got it. I’m seeing at least 10 a day, a colleague saw 20 in one shift at the weekend and they are coming into every department in Greater Manchester.
“We are all seeing an increase in these patients who are concerned after the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“But very, very few actually do have a problem.”
She added: “The key message is it’s very, very rare and if patients are concerned they should contact their GP or ring 111 first.
Dr Gavin said they understood people’s anxieties around blood clots, adding: “We want to make sure that in the very few cases that people may have those conditions that they are picked up appropriately.
“But we would advise people unless they are very unwell in
which case they can call an ambulance - to contact 111 or their GP in the first instance to get some advice on whether they need to come to hospital to be investigated.”
Dr Gavin said some side effects, including headaches, can be common after the vaccine.
But in terms of those actually suffering from blood clots, she added: “Most departments are seeing the odd one but it’s very rare and we have only seen a few in Manchester.
“These patients have been very unwell.
“That’s why we are saying to call 111 or your GP because a few basic tests can sieve out those patients who need hospital assessment.”
It follows months of controversy over the potential side effects of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine amid concerns about rare cases of blood clots. On Tuesday, Denmark stopped giving the AstraZeneca jab, a move which is expected to delay the country’s vaccination programme by several weeks.
Drug watchdog, the European Medicines Agency, last week announced a possible link with clots but said the risk of dying of Covid-19 was much greater.
Several European countries had previously briefly suspended the jab.
Most have now resumed vaccinations with AstraZeneca, but often with limits to older age groups.
On Tuesday, the US, Canada, and the European Union paused the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for similar reasons.
South Africa has also paused its use, despite the Johnson & Johnson being its preferred vaccine because of its effectiveness against the regional variant.
Danish officials said that all 2.4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine would be withdrawn until further notice.
The blood clot syndrome involves an unusual type of clot dubbed cerebral venous sinus thrombosis - one that often forms in the brain.
In post-vaccine cases, this is coupled with low levels of platelets, small particles in the blood that stick together to make clots.
Confirmed cases have occured mainly in people aged under 60 and more often in women than men, but this could be due to more women working in healthcare and care, who are therefore more likely to have received a vaccination.