AstraZeneca's vaccine is safe, says Dr. Huerta 1:10
(CNN Spanish) -
Several European countries suspended the application of the AstraZeneca vaccine against covid-19 after some reports of people who received it developed blood clots.
Those countries began to resume immunizations with this vaccine after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced this Thursday that after its investigation it reached the conclusion that it had already anticipated in previous days: the vaccine is safe. and the benefits outweigh the risks.
The EMA, however, cautioned that a link between clots and the vaccine could not be ruled out.
"I want to reiterate that our scientific position is this, is that this vaccine is a safe and effective option to protect citizens against covid-19," said the executive director of the EMA, Emer Cooke.
"The committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increased overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots," Cooke added.
LOOK: There is no evidence that the Astrazeneca vaccine causes clots, says Dr. Huerta
The EMA recommends' awareness of these potential risks, making sure they are included in the product information.
Raising attention to these possible rare diseases and providing information to health professionals and vaccinated people will help detect and mitigate possible side effects.
advertising
Although more than a dozen countries even suspended the application of the vaccine amid reports of cases and a vaccination campaign with several setbacks - the authorities have called for calm, and among the people who have already received, or who could receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, the suspension has raised many questions.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson emerged almost triumphant after the EMA's announcement of the vaccine shared by the University of Oxford and British-Swedish AstraZeneca.
LOOK: "There is no evidence" that the AstraZeneca vaccine causes clots, says executive director of the European Medicines Agency
Johnson, who already had covid-19, applied the vaccine in question on Friday and declared that the EMA's verdict was "very important for our European friends."
“The Oxford vaccine is safe, and the Pfizer vaccine is safe.
What is not safe is having covid, "he added.
"People should keep getting the vaccine when asked to do so."
Shortly before the European agency spoke, its British counterpart said in a report that "the available evidence does not suggest" that the AstraZeneca vaccine causes clots.
Although she pledged to keep reviewing cases in the UK until now, June Raine, the head of the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency, stated that “there is no evidence that vein clots occur any more than what is known. I would expect in the absence of a vaccination with either vaccine, ”referring to AstraZeneca and Pfizer.
AstraZeneca has repeatedly insisted that their product is safe
Other European experts have also pointed out that the number of cases of blood clots reported after the vaccine is not higher than the rate that would be expected in the general population.
Seven cases have been reported among 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the European Union.
However, there are conditions such as obesity, behaviors such as smoking, and medications such as oral contraceptives that are on the list of factors that would increase the risk of blood clots.
In the United States, according to the CDC, each year up to 2 people in 1,000 suffer from blood clots.
«A thromboembolic phenomenon is what, in popular language, is called clot formation in the body.
In medicine, the clots that form in veins or arteries are called thrombi, and when these break off and reach organs such as the brain or lungs, they are called emboli, "explains Dr. Huerta in an episode of his podcast on this topic.
"Thromboembolism then means that - for various reasons - thrombi or clots form within the veins, and these break off and the emboli can affect various organs, and can cause death," he adds.
How common are clots and what increases the risk of them?
According to the American Hematology Association, here are some factors that cause blood clots:
1. Obesity
Studies show that obese people have a 2.3 times greater risk of developing a clot in the legs, pelvis or arms, a condition known as venous thrombosis.
They also have twice the risk of developing pulmonary embolism, which occurs when an artery in the lungs becomes blocked by a clot.
It is estimated that in the world there are 650 million obese people, according to data from the World Health Organization for 2016.
LOOK: Blood clots related to AstraZeneca vaccine are probably a coincidence, says a doctor
2. Hypertension
Hypertensive people have a 1.51 times greater risk of developing blood clots, according to a 2007 meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Cardiocerebral Diseases.
According to the WHO, some 1.13 billion people in the world suffer from hypertension, and most of them live in low- and middle-income countries.
Countries suspend application of AstraZeneca vaccines 2:11
3. Pregnancy
Women are up to five times more likely to develop blood clots when they are pregnant.
According to a study by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), other factors that increase the risk in pregnancy are being 35 years old or older, obesity and immobility.
These factors increase the risk by 1.5 to 2 times.
About 123 million pregnancies occur each year, although many do not reach term.
4. Inactivity
Not moving for an extended period of time can increase the risk of blood clots.
This category includes immobility, for example on a long flight.
According to an NIH study of long flight passengers, 1,000 to 2,000 people per million can develop thrombosis from inactivity.
Inactivity is also caused by a sedentary lifestyle.
According to the WHO, a lifestyle without sufficient physical activity is attributed 2 million deaths annually.
In developing countries, more than half of adults are not active enough.
In the world it is estimated that between 60 and 85% of people are sedentary.
MIRA: Which countries in Europe suspended the use of Astrazeneca after reports of clots and which did not?
5. Smoking
The NIH concluded from 32 studies involving more than 3.9 million participants that smoking is a well-known risk factor for atherosclerosis, although its incidence in thromboembolism remains controversial.
According to the NIH, people who smoke occasionally 1.17 times the risk of clots, current smokers 1.23 times and ex-smokers 1.10 times.
More than 8 million people die from tobacco each year, between active and passive smokers.
According to the WHO, there are about 1.3 billion people in the world who smoke, and 80% of them live in low-income countries.
6. Take oral contraceptives
The use of oral contraceptives can triple the risk of developing clots compared to those who do not use these methods, notes the journal Scientific American, citing a British study.
Clots usually occur in the pelvis or legs.
A 2019 UN study says there are about 151 million oral contraceptive users in the world.
Other factors that increase the risk of blood clots are certain types of cancer, accidents, certain surgeries, age (risk increases after age 60), family history, diabetes, high cholesterol, and others.