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.

@JeanClaudeVanDammit

Bloody hell, I'll have it for you - my jab date is receding further into the future every day.

Same. And when I still haven’t been offered a vaccine but we need vaccine passports or expensive tests to do just about anything enjoyable I will be even more fucking angry about it than I already am.

I wonder whether the change in policy for under-30s might mean over-30s get pushed forward for AZ? Don't know how old you are, though!

I would have it. You can take some low dose Aspirin for a few days before and after which significantly reduces risk of clots (I do realise some people cannot tolerate aspirin)

This is very bad and potentially dangerous advice!

There has been no advice that anyone should take medication to prevent rare clotting events. Beverley Hunt, professor of thrombosis and haemostasis at King’s College London and a representative of Thrombosis UK cautioned against taking aspirin, stressing it is thought the clotting problems are down to an immune response.

“So taking aspirin is not going to be helpful. Taking an anticoagulant probably isn’t going to be helpful, especially if you are going to get a low platelet count, it will increase your risk of bleeding,” she said. “And we know if you take aspirin and you don’t need to take aspirin the benefits aren’t very good and there is a risk that you can bleed spontaneously.”

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/07/what-do-i-need-to-know-about-the-oxfordastrazeneca-vaccine

These threads are utterly ridiculous and should be deleted.

Just complete and unnecessary scaremongering.

There isn't a medicine or vaccine in the world which wouldn't have the side affects / fatalities that the AZ has if taken in the same numbers.

The affects and risks of Covid are much worse, people need to stop being so selfish.

@Shosha1

You do know that none of the existing cases of blood clots were after the second dose? I'm in my 60's and the risk of being very ill with Covid as I was with swine flu, means that there will be no way in hell I won't be having my second jab next week.

This is really important. If you were ok after the first jab, you'll be ok after the second as I understand it.

@TheWhalrus

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.

This.

The tiny few reactions were due to the way the body's immune system responded to a new threat. The second time round, the vaccine isn't new, and your body has already adapted.

I can empathise with people feeling a bit scared about the first vaccination (even though the risk, in reality, is vanishingly small) but there is really no need to fear the second one if you've already had the first.

@JamandHoney

Have you ever taken the oral contraceptive pill? The clot risk with COC is far higher.

And if you haven’t ever taken the oral contraceptive pill, the clot risk in pregnancy is even higher than the combined pill.

What are you going to do, if it has suddenly been announced from somewhere, that other types of the Covid vaccines ,have been found to cause blood clots in some people.

My understanding (from a relative who is a medical professional) is that they won’t be facilitating picking and choosing. The NHS doesn’t have the capacity to allow that. You take what you’re offered or you get no vaccine. Same as every other medication: the doctor decides what to prescribe and you don’t get to demand a different medication.

Someone at work knows someone who had blood clots.

They had the Pfizer jab.

OP, the risk is bugger all. Just roll up your sleeve when the time comes and you'll be fine.

@Everythingfromhome

These threads are utterly ridiculous and should be deleted.

Just complete and unnecessary scaremongering.

There isn't a medicine or vaccine in the world which wouldn't have the side affects / fatalities that the AZ has if taken in the same numbers.

The affects and risks of Covid are much worse, people need to stop being so selfish.

I agree that the OP is being utterly ridiculous, but I actually think there is some value in threads like this.

People do think like this. People really are that stupid. Maybe it is a good thing for them to see all the replies reminding them that all medicines carry some degree of risk and that the risks associated with AZ are not only incredibly low but they are considerably lower than the risks associated with catching Covid.

It never fails to surprise me how some people will latch on to the tiniest shred of scaremongering but won't listen all the scientists and doctors telling them that the vaccine is safe.

@MummyPop00

Why do people still bang the ‘no risk from the second jab’ line.

This situation hasn’t evolved for long enough for us to know that for sure. Could be a slow burner for all we know.

Because the science makes it clear that it is the first time that the new threat is introduced to your immune system, that carries the risk of your system over-reacting. When you have the second jab, it's not new to your immune system and your body has already adapted to the new substance.

Wintertravel1980
Unfortunately, Pfizer has also got side effects and they appear more prominent after the second dose

Thanks for that joyous bit of information as I’m waiting for 2nd dose call up for the Pfizer vaccine

Do you have a link to that science @saraclara. Could be reassuring for people concerned about their second dose to read.

@Everythingfromhome

These threads are utterly ridiculous and should be deleted.

Just complete and unnecessary scaremongering.

There isn't a medicine or vaccine in the world which wouldn't have the side affects / fatalities that the AZ has if taken in the same numbers.

The affects and risks of Covid are much worse, people need to stop being so selfish.

I disagree. Deleting threads like this simply make the nervous think that there MUST be something wrong and that's why any question results in censorship.

And as a pp has just said, having the vast majority of responses pointing out the reality and the science will not only (hopefully) reassure the OP, but also other posters who might have been feeling the same.

@Ashleys63 - According to the BBC news last night, if you get Covid, you have a 1 in 4 chance of getting a blood clot, whereas, of the 20 million people in the UK who had had the vaccine by March 18th, there were 25 cases of blood clots. So the chance of anyone getting a clot after their first dose of the vaccine is 0.000125% That is vanishingly small.

And, as previous posters have said, none of these were after the second dose, so if you were fine after the first dose, your chance of having a clot after the second dose is zero.

Please get your second dose. The benefits far, far FAR outweigh the tiny risk (which vanishes altogether if it's the second dose).

I do understand why you are worrying - but please look at the numbers, and let them reassure you.

@Oly4

Oh my word, I can’t believe people are actually not going to run up for second doses off the back of this. NO clots occurred after second doses and the risk of dying even after the first jab was one in a million. There will be PLENTY of other medicines you happily take throughout your life that will be far more risky

I know, the hysteria is crazy. The risk is about 1 in a million of having a blood clot due to covid. 🤯🤯

The number of women that will have taken the pill for years and years on end without giving it a second though .... blows my mind the fuss about the second jab!!

@Namechange1991x

My sister has requested this because our mum and great grandma both died, pre covid, of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. Both undiagnosed, brain stem dead in a week. We were children..anyway she went to her GP, or spoke to I should say, who sympathised..she is going to speak to the medical.board about it. But I am assuming this is the sort of exception that may be allowed, as the clot is rare but not to our family.

And that's exactly why we all know about the risks. So we can identify our personal, familial risks and get some advice before being vaccinated.

Wishing you well

I agree @CuriousaboutSamphire :)

These threads are utterly ridiculous and should be deleted.

Or they should stay and allow people who are genuinely concerned to discuss the situation in more detail and help them make a more informed decision.

Along with speaking to their GP. There are some useful links on such threads.

hmmm...Just saw that Germany have said that a different vaccine can be given as a second dose.

www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-germany-astrazeneca-s/german-vaccine-experts-no-risks-in-vaccine-switch-after-first-astra-dose-idUSS8N2ET03E

Trials are still under way for how effective this is though.

The medicines regulators have all the facts. They will make a balanced decision for you, follow their advice.

You are being ridicilous.

No its not allowed. As its untested. You might end up with far more common reactions - we don't know because its untested. You are proposing a complete unknown v a very small risk.

The fact you've already had one dose and didn't have a reaction reduces your risk further.

Just stop being silly, read up on the tiny numbers (at your age covid is much more of a risk) and get on with having your second. You are blowing this out of all proportion.

They've been ongoing all over for a while. I have a vague memory that this was one of the trials some MNers were involved in. There may be a thread on it, like those for the other trials.

www.nihr.ac.uk/news/worlds-first-covid-19-vaccine-alternating-dose-study-launches-in-uk/26773

I keep seeing people saying that there is no risk with the second jab if you’ve been ok with the first as though this has been stated as fact. Hopefully this is the case but they were very clear yesterday at the press conference that there simply isn’t enough data yet re the risk with the second dose as not enough second doses have been given. I believe only 800,000 second doses have been given and there haven’t been any clots reported after second doses but due to the rare occurrence of the clots this sample size isn’t big enough to draw any conclusions. They are monitoring this closely though.

These threads are utterly ridiculous and should be deleted.

I disagree. I suffer with anxiety that I know is irrational, but I can't just switch it on and off at will. I don't regret having had my first AZ jab at all - on the contrary, I'm grateful for it. I also have every intention of getting my second jab when the time comes. I'm not an idiot. However, I can't help but worry because that's just the way I am, and all of the posts from the sensible people on this and other threads are actually really reassuring, and helping me to put my worries into perspective.

People who don't struggle with anxiety may not appreciate how difficult it can be to manage. Even when we know that something is irrational, we can't necessarily control the over-active mind. There will be some people who are convinced that their concerns are justified, and won't want to listen to reason, but for many of us who struggle with anxiety, it is actually very helpful to have people talking down our irrational fears. So please leave the threads up...I find them reassuring.