Covid: Doctors urged caution after three AstraZeneca jab patients suffered a stroke

Three young people suffered a stroke and one died shortly after receiving Oxford /AstraZeneca Vaccines, call for doctors to be vigilant.

Two women in their thirties and a man in their forties suffered a blood clot in a large artery, causing an ischemic stroke, but experts emphasize that the likelihood is still very small.

University College London (UCL) Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s National Neurology Neurosurgery Hospital and a team of experts from other medical institutions NHS Patients with ischemic stroke should be alerted within about 1 month of vaccination.

Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke and is caused when a blood clot stops blood flow to the brain.

Experts said patients suffering from stroke should be “urgently evaluated” for a very rare syndrome called vaccine-induced thrombosis and thrombocytopenia (VITT).

They said the condition needed to be quickly diagnosed and managed by a team with varying expertise and quick access to a variety of medications.

Experts emphasized that stroke cases are extremely rare and that stroke is more common in people who have caught Covid-19.

They said that there were 309 cases of macrothrombosis with low platelet counts, suggesting VITT with more than 30 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine.

Therefore, very few people experience thrombosis due to VITT after Covid-19 vaccination, about once in 100,000.

The· The UK restricted the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to people under the age of 30 in April and raised it to people under the age of 40 on May 7.I’m afraid that jabs can cause blood clots.

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David Werring, professor of clinical neurology at UCL, the lead author of the report, said: The more common ischemic stroke due to arterial thrombosis, which blocks blood flow to parts of the brain, may also be a hallmark of vaccine-induced thrombosis.

“Of course, both types of thrombosis remain very rare, but between days 4 and 28, patients have typical stroke symptoms (face, arm or leg weakness) due to arterial obstruction. , Speaking disorders, etc.), doctors should be vigilant after vaccination. “

The first patient, a 35-year-old Asian woman who died later, experienced intermittent headaches on the right side and around the eyes 6 days after vaccination.

Five days later, she felt drowsy and woke up with weakened face, arms and legs. She underwent brain surgery to reduce the pressure on her skull along with other treatments, but these failed to save her life.

The second patient, a 37-year-old Caucasian woman, suffered from headache, confusion, weakness in her left arm, and loss of vision on her left side 12 days after vaccination. She survived with some treatment.

A third patient, a 43-year-old Asian man, was hospitalized three weeks after being vaccinated for language speaking and comprehension problems.

He has received other treatments in addition to platelet and plasma transfusions and remains stable.

Hugh Markus, a professor of clinical neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, said: “During the current corona vaccination period, high suspicion indicators are needed to identify post-vaccination thrombotic episodes.

“But it is important to remember that these side effects are rare and far less common than both cerebral vein thrombosis and ischemic stroke associated with the Covid-19 infection itself.”

Professor Beverley Hunt of King’s College London, Medical Director of Thrombosis UK, said ViTT rarely occurs after Covid-19 vaccination.

“This case report details three patients who had a stroke due to arterial occlusion,” he said.

“VITT more commonly presents with large venous thrombosis, but it is well recognized in the UK that it can, and the current guidance document of the UK Expert Hematology Panel and School of Emergency Medicine recognizing.”

Dr. June Raine, Chief Executive Officer of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, said:

“We continuously monitor the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine and publish a weekly summary of the latest summaries of all Yellow Card reports received.

“Effective drugs and vaccines are risk-free.

“These specific types of thrombi with low platelets reported after the Covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca remain very rare and are unlikely to occur.

“Our advice is that the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks of the majority of people.”