A scientist advising the Government has insisted blood clots potentially associated with coronavirus vaccines are “extraordinarily rare events” and reminded the public that no medicine is completely free of side-effects.
Professor Peter Openshaw’s comments come after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it is continuing to look at reports of rare blood clots related to the vaccine from Janssen, whose parent company is Johnson & Johnson.
The vaccine is yet to be approved for use in the UK, but the Government has ordered 30 million doses.
Prof Openshaw, a member of the Covid-19 clinical information network, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We still don’t know whether they are directly related and caused by the vaccine but it seems possible that they could be.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: Healthy under-30s in Glasgow given AstraZeneca vaccine
“We still have to bear in mind just how rare these events are, and we’re doing something at massive scale in terms of rolling out these vaccines, and there are many vaccines around.
“It wouldn’t be surprising to find the J & J, the Janssen vaccine, also causes rare blood clots, because it’s based on an adenovirus technology which is not that far away from the technology which is being used in the AstraZeneca vaccine.”
Four serious cases of unusual blood clots with low blood platelets have been reported in relation to the Janssen jab – one in a clinical trial and three during the vaccine’s rollout in the US. One person has died.
It follows the EMA announcement earlier this week that brain blood clots with low platelet count should be regarded as a rare side-effect of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
MHRA issues new advice concluding a possible link between #COVID19 Vaccine #AstraZeneca & extremely rare, unlikely-to-occur blood clots.
Vaccines are the best way to protect people from #COVID19 & the benefits continue to outweigh any risks.
Read more: https://t.co/6aDMYhBEVp pic.twitter.com/FVxxm8a3A1
— MHRAgovuk (@MHRAgovuk) April 7, 2021
In the UK, regulators have recommended that people aged 18 to 29 should be offered alternatives to the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying there was a possible link between the jab and “extremely rare” blood clots.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the benefits still outweigh the risks overall, but while it has not concluded that the AstraZeneca vaccine causes rare brain clots, it said the link is getting firmer.
The MHRA said figures suggest the risk of rare blood clot is the equivalent to four people out of every million who receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Asked if he is concerned public confidence in jabs could be undermined, Prof Openshaw said: “These are extraordinarily rare events and there is no medicine that is going to be completely free of side-effects.
READ MORE: Covid vaccines are safe - but damages should be fair for those harmed
“But this is on the scale of the risk of adverse outcome that you would expect if you were to get in the car and drive 250 miles, and many of us wouldn’t blink before taking that risk.
“So I think it really is important to recognise just how rare these events are.”
The EMA is also looking at five reports of rare capillary leak syndrome in people who were vaccinated with AstraZeneca.
This syndrome causes leakage of fluid from blood vessels, causing tissue swelling and a drop in blood pressure.
Asked about the Janssen vaccine, the MHRA said it remains under review.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel