NEW ORLEANS — In February, preliminary science showed the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine was safe, giving 100 percent protection against severe illness.
Now it's under further investigation in Europe, after 37 cases of blood clots, out of the 17 million people who had been vaccinated.
So what does this mean if you're trying to decide about getting vaccinated?
A number of European countries are temporarily pausing the use of the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine after reports of dangerous blood clots in some people. That vaccine is not yet approved in the U.S., but reports can cause fear about the current vaccines. So we asked Tulane Vaccinologist Dr. Lisa Morici for the vax facts.
“At this point, there's no causal relationship between any of the vaccines and serious adverse events,” said Dr. Lisa Morici, who is in the Tulane Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
Dr. Morici reminds us that millions of people are being vaccinated across the globe. Blood clots can occur for many reasons. The important question to ask now is, is it happening more frequently in people who got the vaccine?
“Right now the reports are that the number of cases are no higher than what you would typically expect in your everyday population,” she explained.
You may remember warnings were announced about reactions in people who have pre-existing severe allergies. There were a few cases in a million. Those are treatable. For now, doctors will carefully examine the new cases of blood clots.
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When asked, as an expert, if she trusts the system that's in place to find and report any link to the vaccine, she replied, “I do. There are numerous mechanisms in place for monitoring the safety of these vaccines.”
The concern is, if enough people globally don't get vaccinated, the coronavirus could then infect many, and mutate, causing new variants. She says catching the virus should be feared more than the vaccines.
“Thousand times greater chance of dying from COVID than from getting the vaccine, even if the vaccine could cause death.”
The data from the AstraZeneca vaccine trial in the U.S. should be ready soon, and will be studied very carefully for safety before it is authorized for emergency use.
Thursday, The European Union’s drug regulatory agency will review the findings on the AstraZeneca vaccine and decide if action needs to be taken.