Anyone else regretting their choice to get vaccinated?

[onthetracks]

I had my first vaccine 4 weeks ago (AZ)
I was really put off my having it and didn’t feel 100% happy, but since I’m clinically vulnerable to Covid and I also look after my elderly grandmother who is Clinically extremely l vulnerable, i thought it was the right thing to do.

Since having the vaccine I read no end of negative reports, side effects, blood clots and now deaths.

I’m terrified that I’m going to develop a blood clot and die.

I know this may sound irrational, which is surprising for me as I’m usually able to rationalise things.
But I can’t help feeling that it’s all been a bit rushed.
We’re all so desperate for normal life that we’ve jumped at the chance to be injected with something that we don’t actually know is safe.

Only now that millions of people are having the vaccine are we being alerted to adverse effects.

I’m really starting to regret that I’ve had the vaccine and I honestly don’t think I will go for my 2nd jab. 😣

1. How long after the vaccine did these people discover or die from clots?

4-16 days, regulators say to look out for symptoms up to 20 days

1. Is there a time period after which you can go phew!

20 days, but you can practice it before then

1. Was this a short-term contra-indication or could it happen in the long term?

All cases for AZ seem to have been a very small number of days after vaccination only, also seems a few cases with Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen were after a very short time after vaccination. With covid the disease, these kind of low platelet and clotting reactions have happened after short and medium term.

1. If you were having new headaches of late, would you be at all worried, put it down to coincidinks/confirmation bias or try and get a GP to take you seriously?

If vaccinated 4-16 days ago and head is very painful, with a headache that doesn't go after one paracetamol, then go and see a GP. Also if you have any blotchy skin marks or sudden pain in a limb.

1. Would nay risks increase exponentially? i.e you may have had Covid, you reacted badly to first vacc, would 2nd vacc increase any risks or if you were susceptible/vulnerable you'd already be among the (miniscule in the grand scheme of things) 30 people affected? Where are they btw - am surprised nobody has spoken out?

They haven't yet pulled together much detail that links the cases. It looks like people who can't take Heparin may be at risk, so if you've had Heparin Induced Thrombosis then see a GP before getting any vaccine right now. Beyond that, or might occur more with younger people - but even that doesn't look like a certainty. We don't know if those affected had covid before, took certain NSAIDs, have some genetic susceptibility to both covid and vaccine etc. The thing to consider is just how very very rare it is, actually they may need more cases to determine any pattern.

@MadreDios

Breaking:

A senior official from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has told an Italian daily it is “clear” that there is a link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and a rare form of blood clot but that the cause is still not known, Agence France-Presse is reporting from Rome.

“In my opinion, we can say it now, it is clear there is a link with the vaccine. But we still do not know what causes this reaction,” the EMA head of vaccines, Marco Cavaleri, told Italy’s Il Messaggero newspaper.

The official reportedly told the paper that Europe’s drug regulator would be making a statement on the issue “in the coming hours”.

The EMA said last week it expected to issue an “updated recommendation” on the shot during a meeting of its safety committee that starts today and continues until Friday.

Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands have all recently limited inoculation with the Anglo-Swedish company’s vaccine to older age groups pending an EMA investigation, while reports from the UK on Monday suggested Britain’s MHRA was considering a similar restriction and could make an announcement as early as Tuesday.

The MHRA’s chief executive, Dr June Raine, said no decision had been made and urged people to continue to get vaccinated.”No decision has yet been made on any regulatory action,” she said.

Prof Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London told the BBC that the clots raised questions over whether young people should get the jab. He said: “There is increasing evidence that there is a rare risk associated particularly with the AstraZeneca vaccine, but it may be associated at a lower level with other vaccines, of these unusual blood clots with low platelet counts.

“It appears that risk is age related, it may possibly be – but the data is weaker on this – related to sex.”

Cavaleri actually said (3 hours ago) that the risks of having AZ are far inferior to the benefits, though possibly further analysis of potential clotting risk to young women need to be evaluated.

Thanks Mrex
That was a direct copy and paste from the Guardian at 12.28 Geamhradh It has now changed to:
Europe’s drug regulator has denied it has established a causal connection between the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and a rare blood clotting syndrome, after a senior official from the agency said there was a link.
In a statement to Agence France-Presse, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Tuesday it had “not yet reached a conclusion and the review is currently ongoing”, adding that it expected to announce its findings on Wednesday or Thursday.

The risk is tiny if you crunch the numbers yes. Sky's coverage was more complete than Graudian's: Marco Cavaleri did tell an Italian newspaper that full evaluation work was still "far from being completed" and that the risk-benefit ratio was still in favour of the vaccine.

Is Sky usually more on the ball with its reporting?

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/06/ema-denies-already-finding-causal-link-astrazeneca-vaccine-blood-clots

Seemingly yes. Shame Guardian and Independent weren't quoting MC in full earlier, they seem to be now.

answering the original question, no, no regrets whatsoever. Just gratitude that it's available.

I think the risks of something serious are very low and people should not be worried. I am currently choosing not to have it although am sick of people asking me if I have had it - I regard that question as as rude as how did you vote, what did you earn, what do your private parts look like and do you have an STD so am going to have to come up with some kind of diplomatic response which does not tell people either way. asking back - how many abortions have you had may not go down too well although it is just as intrusive!

I've read the original Italian. (I'm in Italy) and he's now on TV backpedaling like a trick cyclist!

I've stopped following the Guardian as frankly, these days, it's more hyperbolic than the Mail.

If vaccinated 4-16 days ago and head is very painful, with a headache that doesn't go after one paracetamol, then go and see a GP.

That's the thing that worries me (but not enough to say no to AZ) - when I get a headache painkillers don't touch it, I have to wait for it to go on its own.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

If vaccinated 4-16 days ago and head is very painful, with a headache that doesn't go after one paracetamol, then go and see a GP.

That's the thing that worries me (but not enough to say no to AZ) - when I get a headache painkillers don't touch it, I have to wait for it to go on its own.

That shouldn't worry you, just go and see your GP within that period of it happens, but you might not get a headache at all. It's their job to make sure you're OK, not for you to have to second guess and fret.

(Your GP should be helping investigate those headaches regardless by the way, you shouldn't just put up with pain. Could be all manner of things causing the problem.)

Thanks @MRex

The headaches are hormone and stress related unfortunately. I back to back packets of the pill to reduce the hormonal side but there's not a lot I can do for the stress. I've found soluble painkillers are a lot better but unfortunately they all seem to contain dorbitol which presents a whole host of other problems!

I've stopped following the Guardian as frankly, these days, it's more hyperbolic than the Mail.

Aye. Old habits die hard. Also I am tight and it remains one of the few without a paywall. Happy for any recommendations though Reuters UK maybe?
I did wonder if you were in Italy - at least you are hearing it straight from the horse's mouth so to speak. Hope everyone is feeling okay and thank you for making me feel better, appreciated x

Hope you get some pain relief soon pink