AstraZeneca vaccine has rare side effects

AstraZeneca, one of the main manufacturers of vaccines against Covid-19, is facing legal action from British patients who claim to have suffered health complications after taking the company’s vaccine developed with the University of Oxford.

People are suffering from a rare side effect caused by the vaccine: thrombosis in combination with thrombocytopenia, which can kill. In total, there are 51 alleged victims and family members who are asking for up to 100 million pounds (R$645 million, in direct conversion) in compensation, according to the The Telegraph.

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For now, AstraZeneca disputes the accusations, but has “confirmed” that its Covid-19 vaccine is capable of causing this rare side effect and associated with thrombosis in combination with thrombocytopenia.

AstraZeneca sued for rare side effect of Covid-19 vaccine

• In February, AstraZeneca sent the following document to the High Court of England: “It is accepted that the AZ vaccine [AstraZeneca] can, in very rare cases, cause TTS [trombose em combinação com trombocitopenia]. The causal mechanism is not known”;
• On the other hand, the pharmacist explains that it is necessary to analyze each case individually to understand which of them the complication was the result of a side effect;
• In April 2021, the documentation for the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine was updated to indicate that it is, in rare cases, a trigger for thrombosis in combination with thrombocytopenia;
• At the time, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) understood that the benefits of this vaccine against Covid-19 outweighed the risks, including of contracting the disease;
• This assessment is always reviewable and, currently, the AstraZeneca compound is no longer so popular.

It’s in Brazil?

Here, the supposed side effects of the vaccine from the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company are also widely discussed. In July 2021, Anvisa warned of possible rare cases of thrombosis in combination with thrombocytopenia associated with the compound against Covid-19. In Brazil, there are records of the disease.

However, it is not only those who took the AstraZeneca vaccine who may experience the complication. Everyone who has been immunized by any of the vaccines with viral vector technology, which also includes the Janssen formula.

Still in 2021, Anvisa maintained the recommendation for immunizations, as long as the person immunized had not suffered side effects after the first dose and was not pregnant.

In case of an adverse effect, the agency also preached the importance of early diagnosis and treatment.

Thrombosis in combination with thrombocytopenia is caused by the formation of a clot or thrombus in the blood, capable of obstructing the circulation of a blood vessel, with the possibility of developing various complications depending on where it develops.

Anvisa points out some important signs to detect possible cases of the condition:

Symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, swelling or pain in the legs, persistent abdominal pain, neurological symptoms including severe and persistent headaches, blurred vision, confusion, seizures, petechiae (small red or brown spots on parts of the body ), bruising or other hemorrhagic manifestations outside the vaccination site, after vaccine administration, should serve as a warning for the investigation of possible thrombotic events.

Anvisa

The doctor responsible for evaluating the possible unfavorable clinical picture also needs to analyze possible cases of pulmonary embolism, arterial ischemia and a drop in platelet count.