I've decided not to go ahead with my 2nd dose of the AZ vaccine. I'm happy having the Pfizer - will this be allowed?

[Ashleys63]

I've just lost all confidence in the AZ vaccine and regret having it at all.
I know the risks are tiny etc etc but I want a vaccine without these associated risks.
I'm 56 so in one of the top groups but just feel so uneasy about it all now.

Oops 4 weeks after my prime dose.

Hope your journey too and from work didn't result in any problems, risks far higher than the vaccines even if you walked.

If you want no associated risks - you can't have that. Everything has a risk. Including the Pfizer jab. And especially catching covid. Still, your call, so cancel your appointment so someone else can have it. Help the species.

There was a dr on TV this morning answering this very question He pointed out that if you have had no reaction to the first dose in the way of dangerous side effects then this proves your body tolerates the vaccine so you should have no worry whatsoever with the second dose.
Makes logical sense to me

OP I get it, I also have unease about it but I had to pull myself up. If you look at the numbers they are so tiny. The risk is barely worth considering, especially when you compare it to the risk % of most other medications and things in life. We must also remember that the media has hold of this as a real juicy story-- just see how people are getting fired up over it. Also, AZ is not making profit and that has led to all sorts of attempts to cast aspersions on it.

You already know that you tolerate the AZ ok so I would go get it. I will be doing the same.

When are you due to have your second dose Ashleys63 ?

I personally would wait until you are called to have your second jab before you make a decision, there could well be a lot more information and clarity about the situation by then.

How many second dose AZs has there been and in what time frame?
Given that it might take 3 weeks post the second dose for this to impact and then some time to diagnose and report- I just don’t think we can reassure anyone re the second dose tbh.

If this is an immune mediated issue then having a primed immune system may well be a bigger trigger imo

My understanding is that the blood clot risk is only associated with a first dose because its caused by an autoimmune reaction. For this reason, I think you can safely receive a second dose, and would recommend that you do this because you already know that you are personally not at risk of such a reaction.

@RoseWineTime thank you for being part of this trial. I think when people are saying 'we need more information, more data' they forget the only way for this to be achieved is for someone else, not them, to take the risk of having new vaccines. Someone has to be in the experiment, else the rest of us can't know.

Be interesting to see the preliminary results of the mixed vaccine trial.

Have my first 'I despair' of the pandemic.

The same risk as hopping on a flight to Orlando... bet you wouldn't feel uneasy about that now would you?

I will be having my second dose (30) as I know how small the risks are relative to everything else in my life.
But if you are unsure then your choice should be exactly that.

I wish the bashing of people who are worried about the vaccine on here would stop!

Yes all vaccines/mediations carry certain risks but people have the right to choose which risks they take and which they don’t!

I don't get why you have lost all confidence in AZ. There is a distinct window for clot concerns - I think it is 3-16 days - and if you have passed this you no longer need to worry.
I have a gene which makes my blood clot more than other people's. It's why the doctor agreed to put me in group 6 because long covid is known to produce clots. I had the AZ and so now I am of course following the data closely - but overall knowing Covid has a higher chance of causing clots then the vaccine - I will still be having my second jab but remaining alert for signs of clots.

It's your choice of course but the risk is very small. Have you read the list of known side effects of any medication? They're normally a loooong list from so minor to bloody scary! Nothing is risk free, you just have to decide which risks you are and are not willing to take.

@anxiousstanley

The same risk as hopping on a flight to Orlando... bet you wouldn't feel uneasy about that now would you?

I still don’t understand this reasoning Some people don’t fly because of this issue... And some women choose not to take the type of contraceptives that are related to blood clots. Saying this to those people just has no impact whatsoever

Have you ever taken the contraceptive pill OP? - there is a far higher risk of a blood clot associated with that. You need to get a bit of perspective.

I understand that people are worried and that being rational is difficult when press coverage jumps on things and sensationalises them.
Risk can be quite hard to assess at the best of times and people often get it wrong because it's easy to bring emotion, prejudice, something you read into the paper, heard on the internet into the equation rather than look at the basic figures and it's also hard to assess what that risk means in real terms in comparison to alternatives.

The risk of an extremely rare side effect versus the alternatives (untested combination, possibility of the illness & its long term effects, hoping you are fine, hoping you'll only get a mild illness) is difficult to weigh up and at the moment there is the added pressure that everyone is doing the same thing and talking about it very loudly.

I take medications for a chronic condition - and had to weigh up the risks for that (cancer / long term side effects/ liver damage) and that was hard even though the benefit was obvious if it worked.
Vaccines are harder because they are an insurance policy rather than a repair job.

For me looking at the evidence rationally the risks are extremely low, with the side effects being a very small group within an unusually massive sample. Most medications don't have the sample group we currently have for CV19 vaccines. If you have an issue with a multi dose vaccine it's usually with the first dose so if I was having second thoughts it would be if I was awaiting my 1st dose not my second.

The vaccine for me was a bigger risk as it wasn't studied on groups who are immunosuppressed like I am due to auto immune diseases - my immune system doesn't work properly in the first place and I can't have some vaccines so it was a big decision to have it. However the risk of Covid causing long term damage was higher and after weighing it up decided that it was the right thing to do. I had the AZ one.

Scientific data is not as some people think a fixed thing as more is known or more is sought out it changes, usually this flies under most peoples radar but at the moment people who don't usually interpret data and writing newspaper articles in it and the proper analysis is lost in headlines.

Only you can say what's right for you but try to step back from the headlines, analyse with a rational head and come to your decision.

I think it is because we are in Europe so we get EuropeCentric news and the majority of the vaccines given in Europe are AZ so we see and get the results of that.

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7008e3.htm

COmes from the US.

I know someone who had one of each. Accidentally apparently- the person in question has dementia and didn’t remember to bring the card or what jab she had first
The carer didn’t know. no one knows why the nurse didn’t look it up on their records either - and yes there’s been a complaint raised by the family

When they got back home it turned out she’d had one of each. As far as I know she’s ok - no nasty side effects

This all shows how much trouble people have assessing risk.

Even with all the figures which show risk of Covid or risk of blood clots generally is higher than with this vaccine, some people will feel uneasy and allow that to tip them against the vaccine.

OP, all you can do is keep reading the useful th8 gs people have said here and the stuff on reputable news sites that show the very very low level of risk to those under 30. You aren’t even in this category.

Then you will have to choose, you can decline if you wish of course. But all the medics will tell you to take the jab. If you want to decide that your gut feeling is more important on this than all of that medical advice, that’s up to you.

@Constance11

Have you ever taken the contraceptive pill OP? - there is a far higher risk of a blood clot associated with that. You need to get a bit of perspective.

Oh I just saw your post where you said you didn't because of the blood clot risk. Sounds like you are very risk adverse then. Totally up to you if you have your second dose, but if you had no ill effects from the first one, then it is very very very unlikely that you will have any problems over the second. The Pfizer vaccine has a blood clot risk too 🤷‍♀️

twitter.com/alex_freeman/status/1379808289278545922?s=19

There are some good details. For you the risk if Covid is definitely higher than the risk of the AZ vaccine.

As others have said, you will unlikely be able to get Pfizer.

I am 40's, female, unvaccinated. I will still happily get AZ vaccine. If I was under 30 then I would probably chose to wait.

The decisions made by the JVCI yesterday also reflect our current status. We are in a good place so they can afford to delay the under 30s getting the vaccine slightly.

I hope after reading the responses you reconsider your decision, OP. I am 57 years old and will have my second dose when booked.

My friend has had several clots this year, dr was confused (he has no risk factors) they ran a covid antibody test and he had a strong response - he had had assymptomatic covid and they caused the clots. Take the vaccine, you are at lower risk from that than covid

I'm 53. Had my second dose of AZ yesterday. My arm is a bit sore, that's it.

If you have an adverse reaction to dose 1, it may well be that you're allowed to start over with another vaccine - but OP did not have an adverse reaction. So she's just going to have to weigh up the risk of getting COVID - which can cause clotting disorders - and the risk of getting a second AZ jab. The evidence so far is that one dose of AZ offers a lot of protection, but we don't know how enduring that is. Lots to consider.

But saying 'I want a risk-free vaccine' shows a complete lack of understanding of risk and medication.