AstraZeneca - yes or no?

[merrymelody]

Our local pharmacy is offering the AstraZeneca vaccine. I thought I would jump at the chance to be vaccinated but somehow, I don't feel comfortable about this brand. Am I being silky?

30 people out of 18 million have had blood clots. The risks are absolutey tiny. Get the vaccine. I wouldn’t hesitate if it were offered to me.

@Daisydoor12

I think as time goes on there will be a proven link between AZ and blood clots. This will have huge implications for the UK vaccine rollout,potentially as big as the MMR fiasco. I also believe the other covid vaccines will also pose a rare blood clot risk. I think in UK many people are taking a fingers in ear approach la la la I want my old life back. What’s happened to the “It’s a mild illness for the younger age groups” and “protect the elderly and vulnerable” rhetoric? By the end of the week more will become clear OP you are right to be cautious.

The MMR scandal (doctor struck off for spreading lies and killing children essentially) doesn't seem to fit this post. Are you sure you meant to use that particular example?

I'm 30. Thats the one I had. You're being unreasonable

On channel 4 news last night a scientist clearly stated that unless they had a condition that made them vulnerable to covid the under 50s should avoid AZ jab.
I'm utterly sick of the hysteria over this disease. There 's no way I 'm having a vaccine against anything that'll probably make me only mildly ill.

It's not Ebola or Rubella! Both of which ARE very much vaccinating against.

I bet there WILL be more problems with this vaccine and the bullish bullying types saying to just have it will look silly.

I won't be bullied by not being able to go to the footie, either. The govt. can f* off with their coercive control.

I think the last thing the op should be called is silly for being cautious.
I’m of the growing opinion, having listened to a number of concerned doctors recently, that unless you are elderly or otherwise vulnerable, that it’s neither necessary nor wise to have this vaccine.
As it is, there is no data at all on medium to long term side effects.

Even if the vaccine was the cause, and this is still not proven, the numbers suggest around one death in every 2.5 million people vaccinated
However, this has to be weighed against the known threat posed by coronavirus
If 2.5 million 60-year-old people caught coronavirus then around 50,000 would die. If they were all 40-year-olds then around 2,500 would die
Source - BBC News

@Pyewackect

Take your chance with Covid then : it’s your funeral !

Fear mongering post^ have you looked at the actual stats for your chances of getting covid and then dying from it. You’ve probably got a much, much higher risk of getting cancer and dying from it than covid.

I’m 42 have had a blood clot in my lung and suffered a brain bleed in my medical history.

I spoke to trained medical staff at the GP and vaccine centre, avoided media and google. I never felt pressure from them to have it either way.

The risk of me getting a blood clot from covid was higher than the AZ jab - I made a rational decision to go with it and for me I felt a sense of relief.

Speak to the medical staff, don’t rely on google or mumsnet uncle cat told the dog who told her neighbours about something ..make a risk assessment for yourself.

4000 people died in Brazil and their healthcare system is about to collapse.
If that doesn't make the world take a step back and get behind the vaccines, I don't know what will.

People seem to be just throwing around completely random statistics now. We don’t know the full risk of AZ in younger people. Especially younger women. We do know healthy women under 40 are at very small risk from covid (I know a horror story personally and a few long haulers so aware that can happen) children even less so. I don’t understand the rush to vaccinate these groups. Is there even solid evidence children spread covid like they spread the flu? I heard an interview on R4 some time ago, I wish I could find a clip of it, it was some government vaccine advisor/tsar. Their view was it was abnormal to vaccinate those who weren’t at any great risk of the virus, especial young people and children, with a new vaccine. They said that the reason we vaccinate the ‘super spreaders’ with flu is that it’s a proven very safe vaccine that has been in use for many years. I didn’t inspire that much confidence that jabbing everyone immediately was the right way to go!

I'm very pro vaccine but I'm having my doubts about the Astra Zeneca jab. It seems that as time goes on the clot issue seems to becoming slightly bigger all the time. I think on balance if I turn up for my jab and it's AZ, I'll still go for it.

I find it interesting that so many people are concerned about CVST and the AZ vaccine when pregnancy has between 7-12 in 100,000 risk (depending on what paper you read) of CVST in the third trimester and peripartum period. I’ve never heard anybody say ‘I want a baby but I don’t want to be pregnant due to the CVST risk’.

I also cannot believe people's blind faith in science, either. So many approved drugs later shown to have devastating effects. Have they not heard of thalidomide tragedy?

I'm glad my DCs have had/will be getting Pfizer. I'm not keen on AZif there's a choice but I'd have it over nothing,

@Berline

I also cannot believe people's blind faith in science, either. So many approved drugs later shown to have devastating effects. Have they not heard of thalidomide tragedy?

Have you not heard of Andrew Wakefield?

@gamerchick I do this already and have never taken the pill.

@IstandwithJackieWeaver well even scientists are only going by what they think. For example Adam Finn a professor who sits on the JCVI only said this morning “what stands about the clot cases is they involve low platelets and so that makes us THINK that this is something a little bit different and out of the norm” and “this could potentially affect the rollout”.

In my reference/comparison to the MMR- exactly children have become unwell and died due to not having the vaccine. This still occurs today years after the misinformation. Whether the link is proven to AZ vaccine or not the damage has/is being done. And worse if the link is proven-however small the risk is.

berline You have no chance of going to the 'footie' or anywhere else of more than a handful of people unless we reach herd immunity via the vaccine (or through so many people catching covid and dying that we get there by default, which no one can recommend with a perfectly viable alternative)

So the idea that we are ever going to manage any kind of quality of life WITHOUT the vaccine is quite frankly ridiculous.

No one can surely be so slow to understand that the virus also mutates and quickly, so we might find ourselves in an even worse situation than we are in now, with children potentially being far more affected if we don't get on top of this. But you keep on with the anti vax message

@EgonSpengler2020 my dh has chronic ITP &having had heart surgery is on aspirin for clots - he has had AZ without issue -please remember your immunity may be slightly down because of ITP
People have had clots with Pfizer -& these clots occur as a RARE reaction to heparin which is an anticoagulation medication! nb there is no way of knowing the individuals undiagnosed issues or whether they had had covid in the past which caused the clots.
nb people who have certain autoimmune conditions are advised NOT to take Pfizer but take AZ instead.
It would be interesting to know the stats for heparin clotting side effect
I can't help but think whose interest this is in to cause such a scare -nb AZ is a not for profit drug & other drugs have a big financial interest in selling their more expensive &frequently more complicated to distribute vaxs

It's not just death from covid people need to think about it's long covid

Female participants under 50 were five times less likely to report feeling fully recovered three months or more after the onset of their infection, the research suggested
They were also twice as likely to report worse fatigue and seven times more likely to be more breathless
Women were more likely to have worsening difficulties or new disabilities, especially relating to memory, mobility and communication than men of the same age
Dr Janet Scott, from the University of Glasgow-MRC Centre for Virus Research, lead author of the study, said: "These findings were present even in young, previously healthy adults under 50, and were most common in younger females

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-scotland-56516069

@Sprining

In Norway I think they vaccinated 120k people approximately with Astra Zeneca. And 6 had the clot. So 1 in 20,000 or so.

It is low, but not as low as others are making out. And I can’t understand why the incidence seems to be higher in Norway than other countries. Are they better at monitoring?

They are good at monitoring but also Scandinavia is less genetically heterogeneous than a lot of areas so genetics may also be playing a part. The best way to get a clot, however, is to catch Covid.

I’m a healthy 41 year old and remain perfectly happy to have the Oxford vaccine.

@Daisydoor12

I think as time goes on there will be a proven link between AZ and blood clots. This will have huge implications for the UK vaccine rollout,potentially as big as the MMR fiasco. I also believe the other covid vaccines will also pose a rare blood clot risk. I think in UK many people are taking a fingers in ear approach la la la I want my old life back. What’s happened to the “It’s a mild illness for the younger age groups” and “protect the elderly and vulnerable” rhetoric? By the end of the week more will become clear OP you are right to be cautious.

Inside info from the EMA? Or just a 'feeling'

Itsalonghaul
I don't give a toss for any of that. MY quality of life will suffer enormously if I get ill through being vaccinated against something that is not worth getting vaccinated against.

You're going to have egg on your face, anyway. I can guarantee that the AZ vaccine will be paused for the under 50s who are NOT clinically vulnerable.

I'm fortunate enough to not be vulnerable AND an under 50.

Details of the investigation are due to be officially released today or tomorrow.
I would wait until this has been released because until then who knows what the risk is.

I’m sick to death of people (and it started with the EU) constantly trying to undermine this vaccine. Next time there’s a pandemic you can forget having a vaccine produced at cost. Ain’t gonna happen.