Information about the AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine:
Recently the Ontario government made a decision to pause use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Here is some information to try and answer some of your questions about the decision and address some of the stress you may be feeling.
Why did the government decide to pause use of the AstraZeneca vaccine?
We now know that the AstraZeneca vaccine is linked to a syndrome involving unusual blood clots and reduced platelets (blood clotting cells). This syndrome is most commonly called VITT (Vaccine-induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia).
It may occur between 4 and 28 days after someone gets the vaccine and occurs in around l in every 50,000 injections.
The government made the decision to pause the use of AstraZeneca because of the small risk of VITT and because we will very soon have enough other vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) to vaccinate everyone in Ontario even without the AstraZeneca vaccine.
I got the AstraZeneca vaccine. Did I make the wrong decision? Was I misled?
You made the right decision at the time! We are in a pandemic and what we know is constantly changing based on new studies and reports that come out.
VITT is a rare event so it wasn’t picked up in the early trials that included about 20,000 people. But now millions of people around the world have had the AstraZeneca vaccine. Reporting systems around the world worked and picked up on this rare side effect.
At first, we thought it was happening in only 1 in a million doses. But on Friday May 7″‘, the Ontario Science Table issued a new report that clarified that VITT likely occurs in 1 in 50,000 doses of AstraZeneca which is a lot more common than we thought.
As healthcare professionals, we encouraged people to get the AstraZeneca vaccine because we thought the benefits of preventing COVID-19 outweighed the risks of a serious reaction, and there was very little supply of other vaccines. However, now we know that the risks are higher than we thought they were, and there is more vaccine supply available.
Does VITT occur with other vaccines?
VITT seems to occur with both the AstraZeneca and the Johnson and Johnson vaccine which are both the same type of vaccine – called viral vector vaccines. It does not happen with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines which are a different type – called mRNA vaccines.
Am I at risk of VITT?
If you received the AstraZeneca vaccine more than 28 days ago, then you have nothing to be concerned about. If you received a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, you also have nothing to worry about.
If you received the AstraZeneca vaccine within the last 28 days, there is a very small chance you could get VITT so please watch out for the symptoms listed below.
What are the symptoms of VITT? What should I do if l’m worried?
- severe headache that does not go away
- seizure
- difficulty moving part of your body
- new blurry vision or double vision that does not go away
- difficulty speaking
- shortness of breath
- severe chest, back, or abdominal pain
- unusual bleeding or bruising
- new reddish or purplish spots or blood blister
- new severe swelling, pain, or colour change of an arm or a leg
If these symptoms are severe, please call 911 and go to the nearest emergency department. If your
symptoms are not severe, please call the clinic for advice.
Please note that after a vaccination, it is normal to feel tired, achy, feverish, have soreness at the injection site or a mild headache within the first 3 days. Those are not signs of VITT.
What will happen with my second dose?
Right now we aren’t sure. We will let you know as soon as we have this information. We think there is a
good chance you will be getting your second dose with an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) but
decision-makers are waiting to get study results that will tell us whether that combination is safe and
effective. The study results should hopefully be available very soon.
I got the AstraZeneca shot and I am feeling really stressed and anxious. What can I do?
Remember that you made a good choice to protect yourself from COVID-19 and you are likely already getting some of that benefit as your immune system gets activated! The risk of VITT is very, very small. Keep in mind that the UK has given the AZ vaccine to millions of it residents and it is doing very well right now in terms of COVID-19.
And of course, our team is always here for you so please call us if you need us.
