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One of Australia’s leading doctors has revealed the warning signs people need to look out for after a man was hospitalised with a rare blood clotting condition after he received the AstraZeneca vaccination.
Acting Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd addressed concerns surrounding the vaccine on Friday.
‘People should be particularly alert to severe persistent headaches occurring four to 20 days after vaccination and which are different to the usual pattern of headaches and do not settle with over-the-counter painkillers,’ he said.
‘If you received the AstraZeneca vaccine and experience symptoms of persistent headaches or other worrying symptoms four to 20 days after the vaccine, you should seek medical advice.’
Australia’s leading doctor has revealed the warning signs people need to look out for after getting the AstraZeneca covid vaccine
Acting Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd addressed concerns surrounding the vaccine on Friday
An infected nurse from Brisbane travelled to Byron Bay for a hen’s night last weekend causing the idyllic beach town to undergo tight restrictions
Earlier this week an Australian man was put in hospital suffering from a rare blood clotting condition after receiving the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.
The 44-year-old got the jab on March 22 and later presented to Box Hill Hospital in Melbourne suffering fever and abdominal pain.
He was also found to have blood clots in his abdomen and a very low platelet count, prompting concerns from doctors.
Professor Kidd said while the vaccine can cause blood clotting in people with low platelet counts he stressed that the chances of it happening are ‘very small’.
‘The serious risk disease and death from COVID-19, if we experience another severe outbreak, … is far greater than the very small potential risk of a very rare clotting disorder associated with the vaccine,’ he said.
‘Cerebral venous thrombosis is a very rare disorder that has previously not been known to be associated with vaccination, however it has been noted as a complication of people who have contracted COVID-19,’ Prof Kidd said.
‘No cases of central venous sinus thrombosis have been reported in Australia to date, in the time period of concern following vaccination, which is within four to 20 days.
‘The TGA has received only one report of a case of thrombosis and thrombocytopenia following vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia but the causal link has not yet been established.’
Professor Kid says they are taking the matter ‘very seriously’ and analysing any links between the vaccine and blood clotting.
‘This condition has presented as either a clot appearing in the brain or as thrombosis in other sites, including in the intra-abdominal venous systems,’ he said.
‘If cerebral venous sinus thrombosis or another severe thrombotic case is suspected in a patient who has received a COVID-19 vaccine, please refer them to an emergency department for further urgent assessment and haematology consultation.’
Pictured: The Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine is administered in Sydney on March 23
Chief health officers around Australia are urgently reviewing the man’s case, with an update to be given on Friday afternoon, The Australian reported.
The Victorian Health Department warned medical professionals to be on the lookout for signs of cerebral thrombosis in patients after they had the jab.
‘As a precaution, all clinicians are being advised to refer patients who report headaches 72 hours or more after receiving an AZ Covid-19 vaccine to their nearest emergency department with a referral letter,’ the department said.
‘Hospitals will further assess the patients and may perform tests to rule out thrombosis as a precaution.’
The man’s symptoms are similar to those of prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia in some patients who also had the vaccine.
Some countries restricted use of the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 while others have resumed inoculations, as investigations into reports of rare, and sometimes severe, blood clots continue.
Most Australians will receive the AstraZeneca jab rather than the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
Paramedic Rhiannon Gallatly (right) receives a AstraZeneca covid vaccination at the Royal Exhibition Centre in Melbourne on Monday March 22
Earlier in the week, Germany said only people aged 60 and over should be administered the AstraZeneca vaccine due to the rare but severe occurrence of thromboembolic side effects.
The European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization have said the benefits of the shot outweigh the risks, but are monitoring the developing situation as more cases are reported.
AstraZeneca, an Anglo-Swedish company, said earlier in March its vaccine was 76 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic coronavirus infections in a US trial, and that studies did not indicate higher risks of clotting.
The news of the Melbourne man’s symptoms comes amid critcisim over the delays of Australia’s vaccine rollout.
A generic image of AstraZeneca covid19 vaccinations inside of the Royal Exhibition Centre in Melbourne
Four million Australians were due to have their jabs by the end of March, a target missed by more than 3.3 million.
Federal opposition health spokesman Mark Butler took aim, saying the government had promised Australia would be at the front of the queue for the vaccine, but instead it had found itself in 108th place.
‘We are so far behind the rest of the world,’ he said.
‘The UK has vaccinated 60 per cent of its adult population. We’ve managed about two per cent.’
Barely a quarter of the 2.4 million vaccine doses available in the country had been administered and only a third of aged care facilities had received their first doses, he said.
‘Every promise they’ve made hasn’t been met.’
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt on Thursday defended the Commonwealth’s vaccine rollout, saying all states and territories will receive doses in accordance with their 12-week plans.
Mr Hunt blamed a global supply issue, with the European Union blocking some vaccine shipments to Australia due to the country’s low infection rate and rising cases across Europe.
Source: DailyMail AU
