The variety of vaccines for covid19 has caused everyone bewildered. Is this confusing you too? Well, all the vaccines are effective and working successfully worldwide with no side effects. However, there are specific facts about the AstraZeneca vaccine which have made it controversial internationally.
The UK is producing the AZ vaccine. AstraZeneca is rarely associated with blood clotting issues. One in 250,000 people have developed blood clotting symptoms in Europe. The symptoms usually appear after 4-20 days of injecting the vaccine. They include,
- Coughing blood
- Breathlessness
- Swelling of legs
- Pain in calf muscles
- Headache
- Stroke like symptoms too
- Dizziness and weakness on one side of the body
- Blurred vision
Is AstraZeneca effective?
A study analysis including four groups shows that the efficiency is around 70.4%. However, the company announced, efficiency value increased to 76%. Whereas, according to WHO, a large-scale clinical trial showed an efficiency of 63%.
Why Italy halted AstraZeneca vaccines for under-60s?
Camilla Canepa, 18 years old, after getting vaccinated on 25th May, died due to clotting disorder. Canepa suffered from rare blood clots along with brain hemorrhage and a low level of platelets. This was all due to a rare type of blood clotting. Therefore, Italy announced that,
“AstraZeneca will only be used for people over 60,”
Country’s special COVID commissioner Francesco Figliuolo
Further, the chief medical advisor suggested a second dose of another vaccine that had received AstraZeneca at their first shot. The symptoms were common among the youngsters. Moreover, In Italy, 46% of people have received the first shot.
Denmark’s response
Due to the rare case of clotting, Denmark also paused the usage back in April. However, according to the Danish Health Authority, one in every 40,000 people would develop a higher frequency of blood clots. Two thrombosis cases in Denmark due to AZ have caused fatalities.
Does it have a future?
Parvord, a lecturer at Oxford University, studied a rare disease, HIT, in Canada. Heparin-induced Thrombocytopenia usually occurs 5 days later after the heparin drug intake. However, the lecturer and her colleagues observed similarities between HIT and AZ’s rare clotting issue symptoms.
Well, AZ has saved many lives, but it also led to fatalities. However, researchers think that it would be easier to identify who should not be vaccinated. Recently Italy has restricted its use below 60. Some of the European Countries have banned it. However, it has still saved the majority from the coronavirus. Therefore, no one can decide about its future till now.
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