Photo credit, Getty Images
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A major vaccine study shows that AstraZeneca vaccine does increase the risk of blood clots and other serious illness that can lead to bleeding.
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But the study shows that the risk of such problems following infection with the coronavirus remains much higher.
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The team led by the University of Oxford is also seeing an increased risk of stroke after Pfizer’s vaccine, but again at a much lower rate than after infection.
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To read especially on BBC Africa:
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The team says these results once again demonstrate the “substantial” benefits of vaccination.
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The study comes after a forensic expert said Thursday that BBC Radio Newcastle presenter Lisa Shaw had died from complications from AstraZeneca’s vaccine.
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The 44-year-old died in May after suffering from headaches a week after receiving her first dose. She was suffering from blood clots in the brain.
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The research team examined the records of more than 29 million people who received a first dose of a Covid vaccine between December and April, most of whom were over the age of 40, as well as almost 1, 8 million people who have been infected with the virus.
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The study, published in the British Medical Journal, looks at complications that occurred up to 28 days after vaccination or infection.
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It reveals that for 10 million people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine:
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- Another 107 people are said to be hospitalized or die of thrombocytopenia, which can cause internal bleeding, but that figure is almost nine times lower than the risk of the same condition after infection.
- 66 more people are said to be hospitalized or die from blood clots in the veins, but the risk is almost 200 times lower than that linked to an infection.
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For every 10 million people vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, the study found that:
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- 143 more strokes were reportedly observed, but this figure was almost 12 times lower than the risk of infection.
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Photo credit, BBC/CAPTURE D’ECRAN
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Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox, lead author of the study
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Lead author of the study, Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox, believes it is important for people to be aware of the risks, but to be put in context given the higher risk of getting infected.
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Associate author Professor Aziz Sheikh adds that the results “clearly underscore” the importance of getting the vaccine to reduce the risk of clotting and bleeding.
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Vaccinations, he says, offer a “substantial public health benefit.”
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None of the university researchers who participated in this study are part of the Oxford team that contributed to the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
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