London – A study by researchers at the University of Oxford in England indicates that the risks of dangerous, rare blood clots in the brain are much higher in those who have the coronavirus as with those who receive either the AstraZeneca vaccine or the vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna in the US. The research shows that the number of people who experience blood clots after receiving the vaccinations from the American pharmaceutical giants is very similar to the number who develop the rare condition after a shot of the AstraZeneca drug, which was developed in collaboration with Oxford’s vaccination institute.
An important finding of the research, which came to light on Thursday as a ‘pre-print’ study yet to be reviewed by other scientists, was that the risk of experiencing a blood clot in the brain is about 95 times was higher for people taking COVID- 19 than in the general population.
This is another serious threat to the health associated with the disease, and one that the scientists hoped to increase confidence in all the major vaccines currently available in the Western world, as their research suggests that the drugs have a significantly lower threat of coagulation than the disease they ‘have been proven to ward off.
“It has been more proven that the vaccine helps people in a dramatic way through the destruction of COVID-19,” said Dr. David Agus, medical consultant at CBS News, told about the study on “CBS This Morning.”
The analysis of real data collected by the global research network for health, TriNetX and European agencies, contained information on hundreds of thousands of people who caught COVID-19, or who AstraZeneca, Pfizer or Modern Shots. Most of the information on the mRNA-type vaccines, which are American drugs, came from the US, while the data on the AstraZeneca shots came largely from Europe’s mass vaccination programs.
The data showed that about 4 out of every 1 million people who receive the American vaccine experience cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), or blood clots in the brain. With the AstraZeneca vaccine, which works in a different way and is similar to the Johnson & Johnson shot, the research showed an incidence rate of every 1 million.
This is equal to the risk of CVT being ten times greater for people catching the coronavirus than for those receiving the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, and 8 times greater for those receiving the AstraZeneca shot.
“There is concern about possible associations between vaccines and CVT, which is causing governments and regulators to restrict the use of certain vaccines,” said Paul Harrison, professor of psychiatry and head of Oxford’s Translational Neurobiology Group. “We have reached two important conclusions. First, COVID-19 significantly increases the risk of CVT and contributes to the list of blood clotting problems that cause this infection. Second, the COVID-19 risk is higher than that seen with current vaccines. ‘even for those under 30; something to consider when considering the balance between risks and benefits for vaccination.’
Research released by Oxford on Thursday found that approximately 39 out of every 1 million people who contract COVID-19 are likely to experience blood clots in the brain. The scientists emphasized that the point of their research was not to compare vaccines, but to collect solid data on the risks of all the vaccines compared to the risks associated with COVID-19 capture.
“The signals that COVID-19 is linked to CVT, as well as portal arterial thrombosis – a coagulation disorder in the liver – are clear, and one we need to pay attention to,” said Dr. Maxime Taquet, another researcher of the Translational Neurobiology Group.
As the figures used to determine the overall prevalence figures are constantly updated, the researchers emphasize that ‘all comparisons should be interpreted with caution, as the data is still increasing.’
They also noted that it was still unclear whether ‘COVID-19 and vaccines lead to CVT through the same or different mechanisms’, and said this would be the topic of their ongoing research.