British Man Died of Rare Blood Syndrome Linked to AstraZeneca’s Vaccine

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A 32-year-old psychologist in England developed a blood clot and died 10 days after taking the first dose of AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine, a report released by the London coroner on Wednesday found, in a rare case of a fatal reaction to the vaccine. .

The inquest, which was requested by Charlotte Wright, widow of Dr. Stephen Wright, found that he died on January 26, 2021, as a result of “unintended consequences of vaccination.” Mrs. Wright sued AstraZeneca.

According to the report, Dr. Wright, from Kent, England, suffered a stroke and bleeding on the brain, as well as vaccine-induced thrombosis, or blood clots, and thrombocytopenia, a condition that occurs when the level of platelets in the blood is low. abnormally low.

Since 2021, researchers have mentioned rare cases in which people develop a blood clotting syndrome known as TTS after receiving the Johnson & Johnson or AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, which is the same. These cases usually occur within a few weeks after vaccination.

Experts still strongly recommend vaccination, saying that although the vaccine is associated with rare side effects, the risk is far less than the risk of the coronavirus itself.

“It’s very rare and, at the end of the day, you have to weigh the risks against the benefits of whatever you’re doing,” said Daniel Salmon, director of the Vaccine Safety Institute at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “And if you look at the vaccines, they are very safe and very effective.”

He added: “No one is risk-free. And if you choose not to get vaccinated, you are at greater risk of serious illness and consequences.

Researchers estimate that the coronavirus vaccine has saved millions of lives, including an estimated 507,000 in the UK in the first year it was administered.

Dr. Beverley Hunt, a London-based thrombosis specialist, said blood clotting syndrome was an “extremely rare event” after using AstraZeneca’s vaccine, estimated to occur in one in 50,000 people under 40 and one in 100,000 over 40.

Dr Adam Finn, professor of paediatrics at the University of Bristol, said that figures show that around 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered in the UK, with around 200 cases and 40 deaths related to blood-clotting syndrome.

The UK is blocking the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine in people under 30 from April 2021, due to the risk of rare blood clots.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration is restricting the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in May 2022 to adults who are unable or unwilling to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, citing the risk of rare blood clots.

AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine is not yet approved for use in the United States, and last year the company withdrew its application for FDA approval.

In Australia, the country’s Department of Health and Aged Care describes TTS as a rare syndrome that occurs in about two to three people per 100,000 who have been given the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Symptoms – including severe, persistent headaches and blurred vision – usually occur between four and 42 days after the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the department said.

Australia stopped the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine last month, saying the newer vaccine better targets the current strain of the virus.

In an analysis released last month of immunization and death records in England, researchers found that young women who received at least one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine were more likely to die from heart problems within 12 weeks of vaccination.

The researchers did not find a significantly increased risk of death in other subgroups or with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is also widely used in the UK. And the study does not prove that vaccines cause death.

Andrew Harris, senior coroner who presented the results of the examination Dr. Wright at the South London Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, described the death of Dr. Wright is an “unusual and deeply tragic case,” the BBC reported.

The inquest found that Dr. Wright was a “fit and healthy person” who received his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine on January 16, 2021. He woke up with a headache on January 25, 2021, and later experienced numbness in his left arm, the inquest found.

He went to the hospital’s emergency room after midnight and was found to have high blood pressure and sagittal sinus vein thrombosis. He was transferred to another hospital at about 6:30 but was ineligible for surgery due to bleeding and a very low platelet count. He died at 6:33 pm

Ms Wright said in a message on Instagram that she had asked for an inquest so she could change her husband’s death certificate, which she said had died of “natural causes,” including a stroke. He said he wanted to list vaccine-induced blood syndrome as the cause of death.

“Inquest yesterday confirmed this change, over 2 years later,” Ms Wright said.

Mrs. Wright also said the inquest “allowed us to proceed with the trial against AstraZeneca. This is the written evidence,” the BBC said.

Mr Harris told the court that it was “very important to record as a fact that AstraZeneca’s vaccine – but that is different from blaming AstraZeneca,” the BBC reported.

Mrs. Wright, who describes herself as a “vaccine widow,” indicated that she is not opposed to vaccines in general. “I think we should be given the appropriate consent,” he said.

AstraZeneca, whose vaccine is Vaxzevria, said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Stephen Wright and extend our deepest sympathies to his family for their loss.” The statement said patient safety is the company’s highest priority.

“From evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, Vaxzevria has consistently been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world have consistently stated that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of very rare side effects,” he said. the statement said.

Derrick Bryson Taylor contribute reports.

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