Back‘Minuscule blood clot risk’
For those who received Covishield, there was a 0.61 per million chance of suffering a serious case of blood clotting, which the panel termed as a 'very minuscule but definitive risk'
PremiumA minuscule number of people were found to have suffered blood clots in India after receiving Serum Institute of India’s (SII’s) Covishield vaccine, according to a government panel.
There was, however, no such instance with those who were administered Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccine, the panel said, citing a study of adverse events from more than 75 million vaccine doses administered till 3 April.
For those who received Covishield, there was a 0.61 per million chance of suffering a serious case of blood clotting, which the panel termed as a “very minuscule but definitive risk". The panel made its assessment after reviewing 26 cases post-vaccination of potential thromboembolic events—the blocking of a blood vessel by a particle that has broken away from a blood clot and is carried through the bloodstream.
“There were no potential thromboembolic events reported following administration of Covaxin vaccine," the health ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The panel had studied a total of 23,000 cases of adverse events following immunization (AEFI).
The National AEFI Committee found that out of the 23,000 cases, 700 were serious or severe, making it a 9.3 per million chance, and 26 were potential thromboembolic events.
The rate of 0.61 cases per million in India is much lower than the 4 cases per million reported by the UK Medical and Health Regulatory Authority, and 10 events per million doses reported in Germany, the government said.
The rare blood clots can cause damage, especially when it is in combination with thrombocytopenia, wherein a person has a low level of platelets that help blood clot. Scientists have termed the events vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia.
In Europe, seven cases of blood clots in multiple blood vessels and another 18 of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST)—where blood clots are formed in the brain—have been reported after more than 20 million vaccinations, making the chances of these extremely rare yet significant. Nine of the 25 people died.
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