It is worth noting that none of the thrombosis with thrombocytopenia cases following the AstraZeneca vaccine have been exposed to this drug.
What is the risk?
It must be emphasised that the risk of developing the rare blood clotting condition remains vanishingly small.
According to the latest data, out of the 30.8 million doses of the University of Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine administered in the UK between 9 December 2020 and 5 May 2021, there have been over 260 cases of the rare blood clotting disorder, equivalent to 10.9 cases per million doses (although it varies by age groups.
The MHRA – the UK’s drug body – guidance on COVID-19 vaccines and blood clots states that the risk is currently estimated to be around 1 in 100,000 for people over 50 and 1 in 50,000 for people aged between 18 and 49 years.