Concerned about having second jab of AstraZeneca

[LuluJakey1]

I have read all of the stuff about AstraZeneca and blood clots and felt the EU was making a fuss about something the WHO and EMA were saying was not a significant issue.
However, I have become increasingly worried over the last few days when further reports have emerged. They are all linked to AstraZeneca, not to Pfizer.
This is in The Independent which is the first time I have read of the medical profession here recognising it as an issue and warning Drs about it.
www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-astrazeneca-vaccine-blood-clotting-doctors-b1826144.html
It raises some very interesting points.

I am worried about having the second jab. I am now feeling the government are trying to sweep it under the table' because they have bought so many doses and could not vaccinate everyone without using AZ.
AIBU to be considering not having the second jab?

What I would like to do is leave it for a while and then have two doses of Pfizer. Does anyone know if that is even medically possible?

That sounds like a very tough call OP. I'm not sure what I would do. I've not had either vaccine (I'm not on the list yet) and don't plan of having either at this stage. I'd rather wait a bit longer if possible. That's down to the fact that I don't have risk factors associated with covid.
In your shoes I'd look at my risk factor from covid, the protection afforded by the first dose (I believe it gives some protection) and the risk outlined so far with AZ and weight it all out. It's not easy though. If you are very vulnerable to covid I'd say go for the 2nd jab. If you are not really vulnerable you may be happy with the limited protection of the first dose and to wait and see if you can get the other later on.

I have not seen the GP, I cannot believe I could be one of the tiny few out of millions to have the low platelet disorder from the vaccination, but I am concerned whether prolonged headache from AZ could be another problem with the vaccine. I am not keen on travelling to GP or hospitals prior to my vaccine protection having set in. Although if it is just a simple blood test that would be handy and reassuring. However, I don't know how a GP would respond to the prolonged headache since AZ vac scenario, it seems some are sending people to hospitals for scans etc whilst others are not so concerned. It would be difficult to refuse hospitals tests if I happened to have a very cautious GP response. I also am concerned about the fact that the AZ is barely effective against some variants such as the South African. I believe AZ are working on a vac for such variants, but this will mean more AZ vacs. I feel like I am now stuck in the AZ system for ages for all future vacs if trials for mixing and matching take a long time. I wouldn't mind that if the headache hadn't strangely persisted. I happily accepted the initial flu like symptoms because they were short lived and expected

Have you reported symptoms to the Yellow Card Scheme?

penni00

I had a headache for 10 days after AZ first dose, was popping the painkillers like Smarties and GP then added cocodamol into the mix when I reported it to him. I have been in touch with him since with concerns about 2nd dose and he has told me much the same as this thread.....that the risk is not fully proven yet and the side effects of catching Covid are potentially a lot worse. I’m still nervous tho.
I take medication which means I am subject to constant blood monitoring however and there have never been any issues raised there, which reassures me a bit, in that my blood is not dodgy.

Are you still happy to get your second dose? Did your GP say anything about what to do if your headache had continued for longer than ten days? I have seen posts where people have had headaches 3/4/6 weeks, with different types of responses from GPs.

Just wondering if you went ahead with the second dose. I am due to have the 2nd jab in a week's time and I am also very concerned. I get migraines anyway and they were more frequent and severe in the first four weeks after the 1st vaccination. I know the chance of a blood clot is low but I am getting more worried as the day of the vaccination approaches.

LuluJakey1, I don't know if you already had your second jab or when the appointment was due to be, but currently the data we have available is that CVST clots (the fatal kind) are mostly after the first dose and generally of the people who received the AZ vaccine, if they had no life threatening adverse effects after the first dose, the likelihood of getting it after the second is much more unlikely. You do have to bear in mind that logically, even after millions have had the AZ vaccine, we of course have fewer people who have had two doses than those who have had only one. But there are still millions around the world who have had two doses now, because many nations are not waiting 12 weeks to give the second dose. So you are most likely to be fine, although like with most things, it is not a guarantee.

The NHS is now able to offer Pfizer or Moderna (most practices and local health authorities have supplies of Pfizer) to anyone under 40 who would prefer not to have AZ. Pregnant women will be advised to and be offered Pfizer and Moderna as safety studies in pregnancy have already been completed for those two but not yet available for AZ.

While giving different vaccines for first and second doses is not yet approved officially under any formal regimen or recommendation, initial studies in people who have had to switch vaccines for the second dose, due to allergy or other serious side effects, on official medical recommendation, have shown to be as well protected as having two doses of the same vaccine. Having only 1 dose and stopping was shown to give much poorer protection than two doses (recent studies showed as low as only 34% protection if you didn't have the second jab, due to the newer variants in the UK).

There is no medical reason for having three doses at present, and no evidence of any improved protection (which may vary depending on timing) or benefit compared to two doses.