AstraZeneca Corona 19 vaccine stored at the Dongjak-gu Health Center in Seoul. yunhap news
After vaccinating AstraZeneca’s Corona 19 vaccine in Europe and thromboembolic deaths were known, some countries discontinued vaccinations one after another. No similar cases have been reported in Korea. However, there is a concern that anxiety will increase as the number of vaccination targets is about to increase, including the elderly over the age of 65.
There is no scientific evidence that the Corona 19 vaccine is associated with thromboembolic deaths. Several countries continue to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine. However, some experts in Korea have suggested that elderly people who already have blood clots (blood clots)-related diseases need to do blood tests before vaccination.
Denmark and Norway stop vaccination…France and Australia continue
According to foreign media on the 12th, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Thailand temporarily suspended vaccination against AstraZeneca Corona 19. The decision was made to clarify the cause and take preventive measures when cases of blood clots were identified among people who had been vaccinated in Europe, and some of them died.
Earlier, Austria and Italy also decided to stop vaccination with the corresponding serial number vaccine due to reports of blood clot formation after vaccination. In Austria, for example, two young women vaccinated with the same serial number of AstraZeneca vaccine in the same region at the same time developed thromboembolism even though they had no underlying disease, and one of them died. The Korean government said that the serial number vaccine has never been imported into Korea.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has announced that these deaths and vaccines are not recognized for causality. In the clinical trial of the AstraZeneca vaccine, no adverse reactions resulted in thromboembolism. The UK, France, Spain, Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, and Mexico maintain a position that there is no problem and continue to use the AstraZeneca vaccine. The Corona 19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team said, “We will closely monitor the situation abroad and take prompt action if a similar situation is recognized in Korea.”
“It’s not statistically or medically worrisome”
A blood clot is a lump that is formed by stiffening some of the blood flowing in the blood vessels. When a person is lying down for a long time due to surgery, hospitalization, disease, etc., or when the body cannot move properly, the blood flow is stagnant and coagulation occurs. Thromboembolism is the type of blood clots that go around the blood vessels and block them somewhere. Because blood clots do not allow blood to pass through the tissue behind the blocked blood vessels, nutrients cannot be supplied properly.
The fact that blood clots are increased in many patients with Corona 19 has already been reported several times in academia. Academia speculates that a substance that coagulates blood is secreted as an inflammatory reaction occurs after corona 19. However, academia estimates that the possibility of the Corona 19 vaccine secreting blood clotting substances like a reaction to the actual Corona 19 virus infection is low. This also means that the causal relationship between the COVID-19 vaccine and the formation of blood clots has not been established.
In addition, there are very few cases of thromboembolism compared to the number of vaccinations. Therefore, many experts in Korea are of the opinion that it is not enough to judge it as a very serious situation. Jeong Ki-seok, a professor of respiratory medicine at Hallym University’s Sungshim Hospital, said, “In the course of clinical trials, related symptoms have not been identified and are not theoretically possible symptoms.” “I don’t think it is.”
He said, “5 million people in Europe received the AstraZeneca Corona 19 vaccine, and 30 cases of embolism were reported.” It means that clinically, embolism is not a very rare disease.
Jeong Jae-hoon, a professor of preventive medicine at Gachon University’s Gil Hospital, said, “There are many voices from foreign countries complaining of anxiety among the people of the country concerned, so it seems that they have decided to suspend vaccination to take a more careful approach.” I have to compare them, but it will take a lot of time for these statistics to come out.”
Many high-risk groups of blood clots in nursing hospitals…
However, some voices say that the government should take preemptive measures to reduce anxiety. Anxiety and distrust about the vaccine leads to a decline in the inoculation rate, which in turn is an obstacle to the formation of collective immunity. Some experts stress the need for preemptive action, especially in nursing hospitals where people over 65 will get the vaccine starting next week. Eun-mi Cheon, a professor of respiratory medicine at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, said, “More than 3 out of 10 nursing hospitals already have blood clots,” and “they are at high risk for blood clot-related diseases.” At least for these elderly people, it is necessary to block the risk of developing embolism in advance.
The method is a blood test. A professor at a medical school who requested anonymity said, “It is mandatory for the elderly or those with underlying diseases to check the level that can rise when a blood clot occurs through blood tests.” If the level is high, it is safe to postpone vaccination, find the cause, and get the vaccine. The test is not tricky and the results come out the same day.
In addition to embolism, the need for the government to elucidate in more detail on cases of severe adverse reactions reported so far has also been raised. Kim Woo-joo, a professor of infectious medicine at Korea University’s Guro Hospital, emphasized, “Most of the causes of death reports after vaccination are not disclosed.”
As of 0 o’clock on the 12th, the number of domestic Corona 19 vaccinations increased to 546,277, exceeding 1% of the population. A total of 7,648 reports of adverse reactions after vaccination were reported, of which 15 deaths, 61 suspected anaphylaxis, and 5 suspected severe adverse reactions were being investigated.
Yu Hwan-gu reporter [email protected]
Lim So-hyung reporter [email protected]
News directly edited by the Hankook Ilbo can also be viewed on Naver.
