Category: Astrazeneca
UK: AstraZeneca #coronavirus vaccine blood clot cases double to 168 in two weeks, 32 deaths reported
The risk of a serious blood clot from AstraZeneca jab has doubled in a fortnight, new data show. Cases have gone up from 79 to 168 and deaths from 19 to 32. The chance of having a clot following vaccination has gone from one in 250,000 to one in 126,582.
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Italy: Augusta Turiaco, 55yr old music teacher from Messina, died two weeks after AstraZeneca #coronavirus vaccination
55-year-old Augusta Turiaco, from Messina, Sicily, received her COVID jab on 11 March before her condition worsened in the days following her vaccination. The music teacher was keen to receive a jab as she worked with young people and even expressed her joy at getting the dose in a Facebook post, writing “fatto” – the Italian word for “done”.
See also “Hippocratic Oath” on Wikipedia
It is often said that the exact phrase “First do no harm” (Latin: Primum non nocere) is a part of the original Hippocratic oath. Although the phrase does not appear in the AD 245 version of the oath, similar intentions are vowed by, “I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm”. The phrase primum non nocere is believed to date from the 17th century.
Another equivalent phrase is found in Epidemics, Book I, of the Hippocratic school: “Practice two things in your dealings with disease: either help or do not harm the patient”.
UK: #coronavirus vaccine breakthrough cases reported with B.1.351 and B.1.1.7 variants
People in the UK have been infected with Covid-19 more than once thanks to catching different variants of the coronavirus. Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser for NHS Test and Trace, said there had been cases where people had become reinfected by different strains of the coronavirus. “We have seen some people who have had their first dose of vaccine who have had the South African variant and the variant that arose in Kent,” she told BBC’s the Andrew Marr show. “You can see that they’re not as good against the South African variant as they are against our own (variant) B117 at preventing infection and transmission.”
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Australia: First fatal case of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia is likely to be linked to AstraZeneca #coronavirus vaccination
The TGA’s Vaccine Safety Investigation Group (VSIG) met late today and concluded that a recently reported case of thrombosis (blood clots in the arteries and veins) with thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) is likely to be linked to vaccination. VSIG reviewed a report about a 48-year-old woman who was vaccinated in New South Wales and admitted to hospital with an extensive thromboembolic event and thrombocytopenia (TTS) four days after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine. Sadly, this person Genene Norris died in hospital and we extend our sincerest condolences to her family.
RIP Genene Norris
Image by Monika Häfliger from Pixabay
France: 9 cases of digestive thrombosis in older patients following AstraZeneca #coronavirus vaccine
Nine new cases of atypical thrombosis (clots) and two cases of coagulation disorders associated with AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, with four additional deaths, occurred in France between April 2 and April 8, according to French health authorities. The nine new cases of rare thrombosis concern people who present “a profile different from that” of the cases declared previously, notes the ANSM. The age of the patients is “higher”: “It is about four women and five men, older (average age of 62 years) who presented more digestive thromboses.
Marie-Antoinette Sevestre-Pietri, French Society of Vascular Medicine President: “”In the long term, it will probably be necessary to do without adenovirus vaccines”
UK: Indian “Double Mutant” coronavirus variant B.1.617 “could be a lot more problematic than the South African and Brazilian variants”
Prof Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, told the Guardian that the arrival of the India variant was potentially worrying. He said: “These two escape mutations working together could be a lot more problematic than the South African and Brazilian variants which have only got one escape mutation. “It might be even less controlled by vaccine than the Brazilian and South African variants.”
The variant featured two “escape mutations” – E484Q and L452R – that “are causing people to be concerned. “There’s laboratory evidence that both of these are escape mutations. Basically, applying what we know about other human coronaviruses would suggest that this is going to be even less controlled by vaccine. But we don’t know that for certain at the moment”
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UK: 100 blood clot cases and 22 deaths following vaccination with AstraZeneca #coronavirus vaccination
“Up to 5 April 2021, the MHRA had received Yellow Card reports of 100 cases of major thromboembolic events (blood clots) with concurrent thrombocytopenia (low platelet counts) in the UK following vaccination with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca. These events occurred in 61 women and 39 men aged from 18 to 85 years and the overall case fatality rate was 22% with 22 deaths.
Of these, 99 reports were associated with the first dose of the vaccine and a single report followed a second dose, although this individual had medical conditions that could have caused the events. Fifty individuals had cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (average age 46 years) and 50 had other major thromboembolic events (average age 52 years) with concurrent thrombocytopenia.”
UK.gov: Coronavirus vaccine – weekly summary of Yellow Card reporting
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Australia: 48yr old NSW woman dies after developing blood clots following Covid-19 vaccination
Australian Federal health authorities are investigating the death of a 48-year-old New South Wales woman who developed blood clots after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. If it is confirmed the woman contracted blood clots linked to a COVID-19 vaccine, it would be the third such case in Australia since the rollout began.
See also: Australia: second likely AstraZeneca #coronavirus vaccine blood clot case
Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay
Brazil: rapid spread and high impact of the #coronavirus VOC P.1 in Sao Paulo – March 2021
Here, we show evidence of how fast the VOC P.1 has spread in the most populated city in South America – Sao Paulo. From March 1st to March 15th, 427 nasopharyngeal samples were collected from 245 HP and 125 from HCW outpatients (25.5% and 23.2% of positivity rate, respectively). We then selected 60 samples with Ct value ≤ 30 (38 samples from HP, and 22 from HCW). All HCW presented only mild symptoms and did not need hospitalization.
Of the 60 selected samples, 52 whole genome sequences were generated (30 from HP and 22 from HCW) following the sequencing protocol using the Illumina MiSeq platform and the analysis pipeline described by Resende et al (8). The SARS-CoV-2 lineages were classified by the PANGO lineages nomenclature (9). Genome sequences generated have been deposited at the EpiCoV database on GISAID https://www.gisaid.org/) under accession numbers EPI_ISL_1464630 to EPI_ISL_1464677.
Of the 52 sequenced samples, 44 (84.4%) were identified as VOC P.1; 5 (9.2%) as VOI P.2; 1 (1,9%) as B.1.1.7, and 2 (3,8%) B.1.1.28.
The most notable variants circulating in the second wave, including B.1.1.7 (detected first in the United Kingdom) and B.1.1.351 (detected first in South Africa), and P.1, are related to an increase of transmissibility (2,10). Interestingly, the P.1 variant was first identified in the State of Amazonas, about 3,800 kilometers apart from São Paulo (5). It is evident that the P.1 variant prevailed during the first two weeks of March, showing a regular distribution among HP and HCW with no difference in terms of age, sex, vaccination, and outcome (Table). From the first to the second weeks of March, we observed a higher frequency of P.1 (78.6% and 91.7%, respectively). In this survey, only one sample from a HP was identified as VOC B.1.1.7. The other two samples were identified as B.1.1.28, a widely spread lineage during the first wave in Brazil.
There is a broad discussion about whether the available vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 will be less effective at preventing infection with the emerging variants (10). In this work, 14 samples (26.9%) of the 52 sequenced samples were from individuals that had received at least one dose of vaccine, ChAdOx1-S/nCoV-19 (n=2) or SINOVAC (n=26). Although they were vaccinated, they could not be considered immunized, regarding the days after vaccination.
Among the hospitalized patients, 19 (63%) were admitted to the intensive care unit, from which nine were discharged and ten died. Comparing the RT-PCR Ct values of all attended patients since the first wave, we did not observe any difference in the Ct mean values with those of P.1 (data not shown). May 2020 registered the peak of number of positive cases with a Ct mean of 23.6. Now, as of April 2021, we are facing a rise in the number of cases. However, the Ct mean was 24.9, which may indicate that the spread of P.1 does not contribute to an actual increase in the viral load.
Image by Luciano Teixeira from Pixabay
Denmark: 29 claims for compensation made for side-effects following AstraZeneca #coronavirus vaccination
Denmark has received the first claim for compensation for a death caused by a special type of blood clot, which the authorities link with the Astrazeneca vaccine. The patient compensation scheme has received a total of 29 compensation applications from citizens who have received the Astrazeneca vaccine. A further eight cases concern the Pfizer vaccine. There are no claims for Moderna.
This is stated by Patienterstatningen, which handles cases of compensation for citizens who are affected by serious side effects from e.g. medicines.
Image by Erich Westendarp from Pixabay
Denmark: 43-year-old nurse Tina Sylvester Rohrmann hit by blood clots in her lungs after AstraZeneca vaccination
After her first vaccination with Astrazeneca, the 43-year-old nurse Tina Sylvester Rohrmann from Nyborg was hit by blood clots in her lungs. She is sure that there is a connection with the vaccine. The doctors at OUH in Svendborg think the same, she says. The Funen nurse fully supports vaccines. Just not the one from Astrazeneca.
Avisendanmark report (paywall)
Denmark halts AstraZeneca #coronavirus vaccine – “We are dealing with a whole new syndrome. About 1 in 40,000 of those vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s vaccine are affected and many die”
“We are dealing with a whole new syndrome, called WHITE. We have identified that there is an increased risk in using the vaccine. It gives us a figure on the increased risk with the serious disease cases. About 1 in 40,000 of those vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s vaccine are affected and many die,” says Søren Brostrøm.
“We know a lot more today than we did a month ago. We know that there is a possible biological explanation why AstraZeneca’s vaccine may cause these cases. This suggests a cross-reaction. We know that there is a temporal connection – we see cases 8-10 days after the vaccination, «says Søren Brostrøm, who gradually feels on safe scientific grounds when he now puts into words the Danish decision to stop using the vaccine.
Image by David Mark from Pixabay
Italy: 75yr old Francesca Vizzini dies following AstraZeneca vaccination
“The causes of the death of Francesca Paola Vizzini, 75, who died on Sunday after the 118 doctors had tried in vain to revive her, are all to be clarified. His family presented a complaint to the carabinieri of the Uditore station and the Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation, also arranging an autopsy, which was performed today.
Although the woman, as reported by her relatives, had received the Astrazeneca vaccine last Tuesday at the Fair, the deputy prosecutor Ennio Petrigni and the deputy Claudio Camilleri, who coordinate the investigation, have not yet involved the special task force. regional deputy to study hypothetical links between deaths and vaccines and this precisely because at the moment it is not known exactly what caused the death of the old woman, a fact that will have to be clarified by the autopsy.
The woman, who allegedly suffered from hypertension, had received the Astrazeneca vaccine last Tuesday and allegedly experienced the normal symptoms of fatigue and arm pain expected in these cases. In the evening she would also have a sense of nausea and her sister would have given her something against vomiting. A home cure that would have given its effects.
Subsequently, Vizzini would also have had a fever and, even in this case, she would have been given Tachipirina at home. On Saturday 10th, 118 would have been called for the first time, but the lady would have refused to go to the doctor or to the hospital. During the night she allegedly suffered abdominal pain and when an ambulance was called again on Sunday morning, attempts to revive her had proved futile. ”
Italy: 26 yr old woman in hospital in Milan after Astrazeneca #coronavirus vaccination
A 26-year-old woman on April 13 was in fact hospitalized in a reserved prognosis at the Milan Polyclinic, after vaccination against Covid with AstraZeneca vaccine.
According to what is learned, the twenty-six year old is hospitalized at the Milan Polyclinic with cerebral thrombosis . The girl, according to the hospital, “is conscious and responds to therapies . She is in conditions considered stable, even if the prognosis remains confidential and is kept under close observation”. The hospitalization at the Milan Polyclinic was necessary because her situation was serious, also for this reason the patient was sent to the Thrombosis Center led by Flora Peyvandi, reference structure.