Vaccine-Induced Prothrombotic Immune Thrombocytopenia After AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccination

covid19-sciencetable.ca March 27, 2021

The United Kingdom, European Union, and Scandinavian countries have reported that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine appears to be associated with rare cases of serious blood clots, including blood clots in the brain.

These blood clots have two important features: they occur 4 to 20 days after vaccination, and they are associated with low platelets (tiny blood cells that help form blood clots to stop bleeding).

Doctors are calling this “vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia” (VIPIT). VIPIT seems to be rare, occurring in anywhere from 1 in every 125,000 to 1 in 1 million people.

Health Canada has stated that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine continues to be safe and effective at protecting Canadians against COVID-19 and encourages people to get immunized with any of the COVID-19 vaccines that are authorized in Canada.