The 48-year-old woman from the Central Coast received the vaccine on the morning of April 8, prior to the decision by the Australian Technical Advisory Group Immunisation (AAGI) and the announcement by Government that the Pfizer vaccine was preferred for patients aged under 50. It’s the third reported case in Australia of a person developing blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca shot. The Therapeutic Goods Administration’s Vaccine Safety Investigation Group (VSIG) met today to review the case and tonight released a statement on its findings.It noted the case was complicated by the patient’s underlying medical conditions, including diabetes. “In relation to this case, VSIG agreed that the case was consistent with causal association to immunisation although for this patient, anti-PF4 antibodies were absent. Anti PF-4 antibodies which activate platelets have been found in almost all other cases reported internationally of thrombosis (blood clots) with thrombocytopenia (very low platelets) associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine,” the VSIG said in a statement.“Despite the atypical clinical features and the negative antibody test, in the absence of an alternative cause for the clinical syndrome, VSIG believed that a causative link to vaccination should be assumed at this time.”NED-3619-AstraZeneca blood clots-What we knowSome laboratory test results from the patient are still pending and an autopsy will be conducted next week.“Given this is an atypical presentation, should the test results and or the autopsy provide an alternative causation, VSIG would review their decision,” VSIG said.There have been at least 885,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine administered in Australia to date, so while numbers are small, three cases of TTS equates to a frequency of 1 in 295,000.“The overall number of reports received for blood clots following vaccination so far has been no higher than the expected background rate for the more common type of blood clots in Australia. These can occur in around 50 Australians every day separate to vaccination and are not related to the very rare TTS clotting disorder,” the VSIG said.NED-3328-COVID-19-vaccines-Options-and-how-they-workThe safety group issued the following health warning for people getting the jab:Common side effects include fever, sore muscles, tiredness and headache. These usually start within 24 hours of vaccination and last for one to two days. These side effects are expected and are not of concern unless severe or persistent. The reports of these rare clotting complications have occurred later (between day 4 and 20 after vaccination) and have generally been severe, requiring hospitalisation.Seek immediate medical attention if, a few days after vaccination, you develop symptoms such as a severe or persistent headache or blurred vision; shortness of breath, chest pain, leg swelling or persistent abdominal pain; unusual skin bruising and/or pinpoint round spots beyond the site of injection.
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