Tag: Astrazeneca
Human and viral protein impurities found in AstraZeneca’s #coronavirus vaccine
“Researchers in Germany report substantial amounts of human and viral proteins in AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine. Although the study is not yet peer reviewed, it suggests that these impurities could be linked to the strong reaction seen in many people two to three days after their jab. The preprint also states that it is conceivable, albeit doubtful, that these proteins could be linked to rare blood-clotting events.
The study’s lead researcher, Stefan Kochanek from Ulm University, says he was surprised by the quantities of proteins detected by mass spectrometry in three vaccine lots. ‘At least half of the proteins present in the vaccine are of human origin,’ Kochanek says. One vaccine lot contained about 12.5μg of virus in one dose and about 22μg of non-virus proteins.”
Research letter: Process-related impurities in the ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccine
Photo by Steven Cornfield on Unsplash
India: 1.6% #coronavirus vaccine breakthrough rate in study of healthcare workers
India’s largest yet data analysis of the so-called breakthrough infections after inoculation with Covishield [AstraZeneca] has found that 16 in every 1,000 fully vaccinated healthcare workers developed Covid-19 infections, about threefold the incidence observed in a US study after Pfizer or Moderna doses.
A team of doctors at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, has documented 48 Covid-19 infections among 3,000 healthcare workers who had completed two weeks after both doses of Covishield before they tested Covid-positive.
“The incidence of breakthrough infection was 1.6 per cent, the median time from receipt of the second dose to the breakthrough infection was 29.5 days,” Venkatamaha Laksmi Pinnaka and his colleagues at PGIMER wrote in their report in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash
VICTIMS: “Vaccine-Induced Covid-19 Mimicry Syndrome”
FT: “the vaccines send the DNA gene sequences of the spike protein into the cell … Once inside the cell nucleus, certain parts of the spike protein splice, or split apart“
During the last months many countries have started the immunization of millions of people by using vector-based vaccines. Unfortunately, severe side effects became overt during these vaccination campaigns: cerebral venous sinus thromboses (CVST), absolutely rare under normal life conditions, were found as a severe side effect that occured 4-14 days after first vaccinations. Besides CVST, Splanchnic Vein Thrombosis (SVT) was also observed. This type of adverse event has not been observed in the clinical studies of AstraZeneca, and therefore led immediately to a halt in vaccinations in several european countries.
These events were mostly associated with thrombocytopenia, and thus, similar to the well-known Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). Meanwhile, scientists have proposed a mechanism to explain this vaccine-induced thrombocytopenia. However, they do not provide a satisfactory explanation for the late thromboembolic events. Here, we present data that may explain these severe side effects which have been attributed to adenoviral vaccines.
According to our results, transcription of wildtype and codon-optimized Spike open reading frames enables alternative splice events that lead to C-terminal truncated, soluble Spike protein variants. These soluble Spike variants may initiate severe side effects when binding to ACE2-expressing endothelial cells in blood vessels. In analogy to the thromboembolic events caused by Spike protein encoded by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we termed the underlying disease mechanism the “Vaccine-Induced Covid-19 Mimicry” syndrome (VIC19M syndrome).
Researchgate paper “Vaccine-Induced Covid-19 Mimicry Syndrome: Splice reactions within the SARS-CoV-2 Spike open reading frame result in Spike protein variants that may cause thromboembolic events in patients immunized with vector-based vaccines”.
FT Article “Scientists claim to have solved Covid vaccine blood-clot puzzle”
Image by v-a-n-3-ss-a from Pixabay
Norway: 1.2 million #coronavirus vaccinations, 160 deaths, 890 serious side-effects, 7,800 other side effects
Norway vaccine side-effects to 11th May 2021 (Note: The Astrazeneca Vaxevria vaccine is no longer used in Norway)
Norwegian Medicines Agency report
Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash
India: Covaxin and Covishield vaccines invoke 50% fewer antibodies against B.1.617 #coronavirus variant
Scientists at the Indian National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, have found that both Covaxin and Covishield produce half as many antibodies against the B.1.617 variant of the novel coronavirus as against the ‘original’ B.1 variant.
The scientists conducted their studies with blood sera (plural of serum, the fluid part of the blood) obtained from people who had received either two doses of *Covaxin or two doses of *Covishield. They were motivated by the need to understand how the vaccines’ efficacies varied against infections due to newer strains of the virus. The B.1.617 variant – made up of three sub-lineages – is accounting for more cases in India. The UK recently elevated the B.1.617.2 sub-lineage as a ‘variant of concern’.
*Covaxin was developed by Indian pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research
*Covishield is India’s version of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in Pune by the Serum Institute of India
Charty courtesy of OurWorldINData.org
UK: Princess Michael of Kent is being treated for blood clots after receiving two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine
Princess Michael of Kent is being treated for blood clots after receiving two doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine – although no link has been established. Sources close to the 76-year-old said concerns for her health emerged after she received her second jab earlier this year. The royal has been recovering at home for almost a month.
‘The Princess has been unwell and has sought medical attention,’ a source told the Sun on Sunday. ‘It has been a worrying time for those around her. It has been difficult for those close to her to see her suffering. She’s really been through it.’
The AstraZeneca vaccine has come under scrutiny in Europe after being linked to a very small number of blood clot cases. A scientific review by UK medical regulator MHRA concluded in April that evidence of a link between the vaccine and rare blood clots ‘is stronger but more work is still needed’.
By Flickr user BigTallGuy https://www.flickr.com/photos/46153825@N00/3031942798/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5667032
UK: Eric Clapton had a ‘disastrous reaction’ to AstraZeneca #coronavirus vaccination, made him fear he’d never play again
Eric Clapton has hit out at ‘propaganda’ over vaccine safety, claiming he suffered alarming side effects after his AstraZeneca Covid jabs. The legendary guitarist, a lockdown sceptic, said his hands and feet became ‘useless’ – prompting fears he would never play again. In a message to his music producer, he said: ‘I took the first jab of AZ [AstraZeneca] and straight away had severe reactions which lasted ten days.’
He added: ‘My hands and feet were either frozen, numb or burning, and pretty much useless for two weeks, I feared I would never play again…
‘I should never have gone near the needle.
‘But the propaganda said the vaccine was safe for everyone.’
Image by Majvdl, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Seychelles: a population of 100,000 that has 900 #coronavirus vaccine breakthrough cases
Covid-19 cases in The Seychelles, where 57% of the population have been fully inoculated with Sinopharm shots, increased to 2,486 people – 37 per cent of whom have had two doses of the vaccine.
Sinopharm vaccine shots were issued to 57 per cent of those who were fully inoculated and the rest with Covishield, a vaccine made in India under a licence from AstraZeneca Plc. As of May 8th no one who had contracted Covid-19 while being vaccinated had died
Image by Manuel Willer from Pixabay
BMJ: cerebral venous thrombosis about 20 times more common after AstraZeneca vaccine
The risk of thrombosis at 11 excess events per 100 000 vaccinations are higher than estimated by the European Medicines Agency. The EMA estimates the risk of thrombosis to be between 1 and 2 per 100 000 people, depending on age. Among the venous thromboembolic events, the most notable was cerebral venous thrombosis, which was about 20 times more common after the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine than expected with an excess risk of 2.5 per 100 000 vaccinations. Venous thromboembolic events were more common in women than in men and were also more common in people aged 18-44 than in those aged 45-65. Thrombocytopenia and bleeding were mildly increased after vaccination, but not significantly.
BMJ Opinion – Thrombosis and bleeding after the Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccination
Study Paper here: Arterial events, venous thromboembolism, thrombocytopenia, and bleeding after vaccination with Oxford-AstraZeneca ChAdOx1-S in Denmark and Norway: population based cohort study
UK: AstraZeneca #coronavirus vaccine blood clot cases double to 168 in two weeks, 32 deaths reported
UK: AstraZeneca #coronavirus vaccine blood clot cases double to 168 in two weeks, 32 deaths reported
UK: AstraZeneca #coronavirus vaccine blood clot cases double to 168 in two weeks, 32 deaths reported
Europe: EMA assessing reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome with AstraZeneca’s #coronavirus vaccine VaxZevria
“As part of the review of the regular pandemic summary safety reports for Vaxzevria, AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, the PRAC is analysing data provided by the marketing authorisation holder on cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) [1] reported following vaccination. GBS is an immune system disorder that causes nerve inflammation and can result in pain, numbness, muscle weakness and difficulty walking. GBS was identified during the marketing authorisation process as a possible adverse event requiring specific safety monitoring activities. PRAC has requested the marketing authorisation holder to provide further detailed data, including an analysis of all the reported cases in the context of the next pandemic summary safety report.”
European Medicines Agency Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) 3-6 May 2021
1: MayoClinic.org description of Guillain-Barre syndrome
Image courtesy of Doctor JanaDerivative: Momas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Seychelles: 30% #coronavirus vaccine breakthrough rate
The Seychelles, which has fully vaccinated over 60% of its population against Covid-19, is bringing back restrictions amid a rise in cases. The archipelago of nearly 100,000 people recorded close to 500 new cases in the three days to 1 May and has about 1,000 active cases. A third of the active cases involved people who have had two vaccine doses, the country’s news agency said. The rest had either had a single dose or were unvaccinated.
There are currently 1,068 active Covid cases in the Seychelles, of which a third have been detected in people given two doses of either AstraZeneca’s or China’s Sinopharm’s vaccine. It unclear what has triggered the surge in cases but testing has detected the South African variant spreading on the islands. (Daily Mail report)
Graph courtesy of Ourworldindata.org
Sweden: 70yr old woman dies of blood clots and low levels of platelets following AstraZeneca vaccination
“I can confirm that we have received another report of a suspected death linked to vaccination last week,” writes Veronica Arthurson, unit manager at the Medical Products Agency in a text message to SVT. The woman in her 70s was completely healthy when she was vaccinated with Astra Zeneca’s vaccine, according to relatives. A few days later, she got the unusual side effects – blood clots and low levels of platelets – which have been the focus of the EU Medicines Agency’s review of the vaccine, according to SVT.
Image by 👀 Mabel Amber, who will one day from Pixabay
Scotland: severe reaction to Astrazeneca #coronavirus vaccine turned woman’s legs into ‘giant blisters’
A Scottish mother feared she would lose her legs after suffering a severe reaction to the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. Sarah Beuckmann received her first dose of the jag on March 18 and initially developed the common flu-like symptoms side effect. But the 34-year-old began to experience a tingling sensation in her legs around seven days later and spotted a rash appearing around her ankles.
Adenovirus-induced thrombocytopenia – aspiration before vaccination with #coronavirus vaccines!
Dr John Campbell discusses the need for aspiration before coronavirus vaccination, and the technique for doing so.
Read the scientific paper discussed in this video: Adenovirus-induced thrombocytopenia
SEE ALSO: Denmark’s SSI recommends aspiration before vaccination
SEE ALSO: French scientists recommend aspiration before #coronavirus vaccination