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EU medicines regulator finds doable hyperlink between AstraZeneca Covid vaccine and blood clots

EU medicines regulator finds possible link between AstraZeneca Covid vaccine and blood clots

Syringes are filled with Astrazeneca’s vaccine in the pharmacy.

Christopher Neundorf | Image Alliance | Getty Images

LONDON – Europe’s Medicines Agency announced on Wednesday a possible link between the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and rare blood clotting problems in adults who received the shot.

It comes after a review of all currently available evidence in extremely rare cases of unusual blood clots in some vaccinated individuals.

Emer Cooke, executive director of the European Medicines Agency, said in a televised press conference that the regulator’s safety committee “has confirmed that the overall benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing Covid-19 outweigh the risks of side effects.”

“A plausible explanation for these rare side events is an immune response to the vaccine that is similar to that seen in heparin-treated patients,” said Cooke, noting that it was heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

The EMA has commissioned further research to investigate the link between the vaccine and blood clots, and said its safety committee had concluded that unusual blood clots with low platelets should be listed as “very rare” side effects of the shot. It also drew the public’s attention to other possible side effects that are flagged as adverse drug reactions on the product information of the vaccine.

The European Medicines Agency said it was “of great importance” that health professionals and those receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine are aware of these risks and look out for possible symptoms, typically in the first two weeks after vaccination occur.

“These include, for example, shortness of breath, chest pain, swelling in the leg, persistent abdominal pain, neurological symptoms such as severe or persistent headaches or blurred vision and skin bruises beyond the injection site,” said Dr. Sabine Straus, chair of EMA’s security committee, said at the same press conference.

AstraZeneca’s shares fell nearly 1% during afternoon trading in London.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca shot has been followed by safety concerns in recent weeks, and several European countries temporarily stopped using the vaccine last month.

The EMA said on March 31 that it had found the shot to be safe and effective, but added that it could not rule out the possibility of a causal link between the vaccine and coagulation events, so the investigation will continue.

The World Health Organization, the UK Medicines Agency and the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis have all stated that the benefits of administering the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot far outweigh the risks.

AstraZeneca previously said that its studies didn’t find a higher risk of blood clots as a result of its vaccine.

Most countries have since resumed the use of the shot, but many have suspended vaccinations for certain age groups.

A senior European Medicines Agency official said Tuesday that there was a clear “link” between the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and very rare blood clots in the brain, although the direct cause was not yet known.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero published on Tuesday, Marco Cavaleri, chairman of the EMA’s vaccine evaluation team, said: “In my opinion, we can now say that there is a link to the vaccine, but we are still me don’t know what is causing this reaction. “

The EMA then denied in a statement to Agence France-Presse that it had made a connection between the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot and rare blood clots.

UK vaccine study in children paused

The drug and health products regulator, which approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for use in the UK, examined the data after a handful of reports – in both the UK and continental Europe – of serious but rare blood clots, some of which were fatal .

A UK study of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine in children has already been paused while the drug agency investigated a possible link between the shot and the bleeding disorders, particularly cases of blood clots in veins in the brain known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) as well Thrombocytopenia (low levels of platelets in the blood that help blood to clot).

The UK government noted that as of March 24th inclusive, there were 22 reports of CVST and 8 reports of other low platelet thrombosis events totaling 18.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine (one shot with two doses). given up to this date.

People are waiting in a vaccination center in Cologne on April 5, 2021.

Marius Becker | Image Alliance | Getty Images

“We need to know more about those affected and understand exactly how the diseases came about while many other questions remain open,” said Adam Finn, professor of pediatrics at Bristol University, UK, ahead of the announcement on Wednesday.

“There are some things that are very clear, however. The first is that these cases are indeed very rare. The second is that the vaccines available and used in the UK are very effective in preventing COVID,” said Finn.

“In short, if you are currently offered a dose of Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, your chances of staying alive and staying healthy will go up if you take the vaccine and go down if you don’t.”

– CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.

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These Footwear Include a Drop of Human Blood. Nike Does Not Approve.

These Shoes Contain a Drop of Human Blood. Nike Does Not Approve.

Some workplaces encourage employees to donate blood to charity. But six employees at MSCHF, a quirky Brooklyn-based company known for products like toaster-shaped bath bombs and rubber chicken bongs, offered their blood for a new line of shoes.

“‘Sacrifice’ is just a cool word – it was just the MSCHF team that donated the blood,” said one of MSCHF’s founders, Daniel Greenberg, in an email on Sunday. (When asked who collected the blood, Mr. Greenberg replied, “Uhhhhhh yes, hahah, no medics, we did it ourselves, lol.”)

A drop of blood is mixed with ink that fills an air bubble in the sneaker, a Nike Air Max 97, Mr Greenberg said.

“Actually, not much blood was collected,” he said, adding that “there were about six of us on the team.”

Starting Monday, MSCHF will sell 666 pairs of shoes – each pair costs US $ 1,018 – as a result of a series of “Jesus shoes” that contained holy water.

Mr. Greenberg noted that Nike was “not involved in any way” in the process.

In a statement, Nike said, “We have no relationship with Little Nas X or MSCHF. Nike did not design or publish these shoes and we do not endorse them. “

The Consumer Product Safety Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday on whether there were any concerns or legal issues surrounding the sale of the shoes.

“If we can make people fans of the brand and not the product, we can do whatever we want,” Greenberg told news website Insider last year. “We build what we want. We dont care. “

The “Satan Shoes” are a collaboration between MSCHF and the rapper Lil Nas X after a music video on the devil was released for his song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”, in which he spins on Satan’s lap.

In the song, Lil Nas X, who was born Montero Lamar Hill, wrote “gleefully about lust as a gay man,” wrote Jon Pareles, the New York Times’ lead music critic.

Lil Nas X was released in 2019 and the title of the song is an obvious reference to “Call Me by Your Name,” a novel about a secret summer romance between two men that has been turned into a movie.

The shoes have a pentagram-shaped bronze charm and the imprint “Luke 10:18” – a reference to the Bible passage that says “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning”.

Lil Nas X responded sarcastically to the social media uproar about the shoes, posting a video on YouTube on Sunday titled “Lil Nas X Apologizes for Satan Shoe” – but what appears to be an apology cuts a sexually charged scene from the Music video.

On Thursday, Lil Nas X wrote to 14-year-old Montero on Twitter that the song was about a man I met last summer.

“I know we promised never to come out publicly,” he wrote. “I know we promised to die with this secret, but this will open doors for many other strange people to just exist.”

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Eire, Netherlands droop AstraZeneca vaccine amid blood clot fears

Ireland, Netherlands suspend AstraZeneca vaccine amid blood clot fears

A medical worker fills a syringe with AstraZeneca vaccine at Santa Caterina da Siena – Amendola secondary school in Salerno on March 13, 2021 in Salerno, Italy.

Francesco Pecoraro | Getty Images News | Getty Images

LONDON – Ireland and the Netherlands have joined the growing list of countries that have stopped using the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University because of blood clot concerns.

The Dutch government said Sunday that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine would not be used until March 29, while Ireland said earlier in the day it had temporarily suspended the shot as a precautionary measure.

The World Health Organization tried to downplay the ongoing safety concerns and stated last week that there was no link between the shot and an increased risk of developing blood clots. The United Nations Health Department has urged countries to continue using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Even so, some European countries have already stopped using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. It added to the worries of the battered vaccination campaign in the region when the German health department warned that a third wave of coronavirus infections had already begun.

Thailand has also stopped the planned use of the vaccine.

The move to suspend use by Dutch and Irish officials came shortly after the Norwegian Medicines Agency announced that three health workers were hospitalized for bleeding, blood clots and low platelet counts after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Norway has suspended its vaccination program against Oxford-AstraZeneca.

Geir Bukholm, director of the Infection Control and Environmental Health Department at the Norwegian Public Health Institute, said the Norwegian Medicines Agency will “follow up on these suspected side effects and take the necessary action in this serious situation”.

The picture taken on November 27, 2020 shows “Nikki” Anniken Hars treating a Covid-19 patient in the intensive care unit of Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet in Oslo, Norway.

JIL YNGLAND | AFP | Getty Images

The European Medicines Agency, the European Medicines Agency, also said there is no evidence that Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine causes blood clots and that the vaccine’s benefits “continue to outweigh the risks”.

The EMA admitted that some European countries had stopped using the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot, but said vaccinations may continue to be given while a clot investigation is ongoing.

How did AstraZeneca react?

“A careful review of all available safety data from more than 17 million people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the European Union (EU) and the UK found no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis ( DVT) or thrombocytopenia in a certain age group, gender, group or country, “AstraZeneca said in a statement on Sunday.

The most common side effects of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, which does not contain the virus and cannot cause Covid, are usually mild or moderate and improve within a few days after vaccination.

A health worker holds a box of the AstraZeneneca vaccine at the Bamrasnaradura Institute for Infectious Diseases in Nonthaburi Province on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Chaiwat subprasome | SOPA pictures | LightRocket via Getty Images

The pharmaceutical company said that 15 events involving deep vein thrombosis and 22 events involving pulmonary embolism were reported among those vaccinated in the EU and the United Kingdom.

“This is much less than expected to occur naturally in a general population of this size, and it is similar to other approved COVID-19 vaccines,” said AstraZeneca.

What do the experts say?

“Covid definitely causes bleeding disorders and each of the vaccines prevents Covid disease, including more severe cases,” said Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

“Therefore, it is highly likely that the vaccine’s benefits will significantly outweigh the risk of clotting disorders, and the vaccine will prevent other consequences of Covid, including deaths from other causes.”

Evans said it was “perfectly reasonable” to conduct studies on vaccines and coagulation disorders, but added, “It seems a step too far to take precautionary measures that would prevent people from receiving vaccines that prevent disease.”

Many high-income countries – such as the UK, France, Australia and Canada – have decided to continue rolling out the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

“When there is clear evidence of serious or life-threatening side effects that have important consequences,” Adam Finn, professor of pediatrics at Bristol University, said in a statement.

“So far, however, this has not been the case, and it is highly undesirable to disrupt a complex and urgent program every time people, after receiving a vaccine, develop illnesses that are random and not causal. In situations like this, it is not easy to Making the right call, but a steady hand on the tiller is probably what is needed most, “said Finn.

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WHO probing studies of blood clots in recipients

Pfizer CEO joins World Health Organization at press conference on the coronavirus outbreak

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks after Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, during the 148th session of the Executive Board on the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Geneva, Switzerland, January 21, 2021.

Christopher Black | WHO | via Reuters

The World Health Organization announced on Friday that it is reviewing recent reports of blood clots in some people who have received the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, which has led some countries to stop introducing the shooting.

At least nine countries, including Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Thailand, have stopped using the vaccine for safety reasons. By Wednesday, around 5 million people in Europe had received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Of this number, 30 so-called thromboembolic events were reported in recipients. These are blood clots that form in blood vessels and block blood flow.

AstraZeneca said in a statement Friday that there is “no evidence” that the vaccine causes an increased risk of developing blood clots.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday that the agency’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety “is systematically reviewing safety signals and carefully evaluating recent reports on the AstraZeneca vaccine”.

“Once WHO has a full understanding of these events,” he added, “the results and changes to our current recommendations will be communicated to the public immediately.”

Dr. Mariangela Simao, WHO deputy director general for access to medicines and health products, added that the global health agency “is likely to have a statement this next week when investigations are complete”.

“The WHO is very much aligned with the position that we should continue immunization until we have cleared up the causal link,” she said.

Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist, said it was still unclear whether the vaccine was actually causing the clots. An AstraZeneca spokesperson noted that “the observed number of these types of events in vaccinated people is significantly lower than expected in the general population”.

“The adverse events reported after vaccination must be seen in the context of events that occur naturally in the population,” said Swaminathan. “Just because it’s reported after a vaccination doesn’t mean it’s the vaccination. It could be completely independent.”

The European Medicines Agency, the European Medicines Agency, has stressed that there is no evidence that the AstraZeneca shot caused blood clots and that the benefits of the vaccine “continue to outweigh the risks”.

“Reports of previously received blood clots are no greater than the numbers that would have occurred naturally in the vaccinated population,” said Dr. Phil Bryan, Vaccine Safety Director for the UK Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency.

“Public safety will always come first. We will continue to examine this issue carefully, but the evidence available does not confirm the vaccine is the cause. People should still get their COVID-19 vaccine when prompted become.” he added.

– CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report.

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AstraZeneca Covid vaccine suspended in some international locations over blood clot fears

AstraZeneca Covid vaccine suspended in some countries over blood clot fears

A health worker holds a box of the AstraZeneneca vaccine at the Bamrasnaradura Institute for Infectious Diseases in Nonthaburi Province on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Chaiwat subprasome | SOPA pictures | LightRocket via Getty Images

LONDON – The coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University has been exposed in a number of countries in Europe and Asia after reports of blood clots in some vaccinated people.

However, many other nations have defended their use of the shot and announced that they will continue their respective vaccination campaigns.

Thailand became the first Asian country to stop using the sting on Friday due to safety concerns, shortly after Denmark announced a two-week hiatus from its nationwide rollout after reports of blood clots and a death.

In a setback to the battered vaccination campaign in Europe, seven other countries have also suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot: Norway, Iceland, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

Austria and Italy have since announced that they will no longer use certain batches of the vaccine as a precaution.

The European Medicines Agency, the European Medicines Agency, stressed Thursday that there was no evidence that the shot was causing blood clots, adding that the vaccine’s benefits “continue to outweigh the risks”.

The EMA acknowledged that some member states had stopped using the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot, but said vaccinations may continue to be given while a clot investigation is ongoing.

By Wednesday, around 5 million people in Europe had received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Of this number, 30 cases of so-called “thromboembolic events” were reported. These cases relate to blood clots that form in the blood vessels and block blood flow.

AstraZeneca said the vaccine has been extensively studied in Phase 3 trials and peer-reviewed data confirms the shot is “generally well tolerated.”

Why do countries pause vaccination campaigns?

The Thai Ministry of Health announced on Friday that it would temporarily postpone the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The shot is reportedly labeled a “good vaccine” but is said to be suspended for safety investigation.

Kiattiphum Wongjit, permanent secretary of the health ministry, said the Southeast Asian country may suspend its vaccination campaign as it has largely controlled a second wave of Covid cases through quarantines and border controls, according to Reuters.

A press conference will be held on March 12, 2021 in Bangkok, Thailand, to temporarily suspend the introduction of vaccination against AstraZeneca Covid-19 in Thailand.

Xinhua | Rachen Sageamsak via Getty Images

The country of nearly 70 million people has so far recorded around 26,600 cases and 85 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The decision of Thailand to suspend the planned launch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which was due to start on Friday, was made following the decision of the Danish health authority.

“It is important to emphasize that we have not decided against the AstraZeneca vaccine, but are putting it on hold,” said Soren Brostrom, director of the National Health Agency in Denmark, on Thursday.

“There is good evidence that the vaccine is both safe and effective. However, we and the Danish Medicines Agency need to respond to reports of possible serious side effects from both Denmark and other European countries.”

Many high-income countries have chosen to continue rolling out the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for safety reasons.

The UK, France, Australia, Canada and Mexico are among the nations that have tried to reassure citizens about the vaccine’s benefits and have announced that they will continue their respective vaccination campaigns.

“An analysis of our safety data of more than 10 million records has shown no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis in any particular age group, gender, batch or country with AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.” said an AstraZeneca spokesman.

“In fact, the number of these types of events observed is significantly lower in vaccinated people than would be expected in the general population.”

What do the experts say?

The EMA’s safety committee is investigating the problem, but has determined that there is currently no evidence that the vaccination caused blood clots. It should be noted that these are not listed as side effects of this vaccine.

The European Medicines Agency also noted that the data available so far showed that the number of blood clots in vaccinated people is no higher than in the general population.

“Reports of previously received blood clots are no greater than the numbers that would have occurred naturally in the vaccinated population,” said Dr. Phil Bryan, Vaccine Safety Director for the UK Medicines and Health Products Agency.

“Public safety will always come first. We will continue to examine this issue carefully, but the evidence available does not confirm the vaccine is the cause. People should still get their COVID-19 vaccine when prompted become.” Said Bryan.

Peter Brownsea, a Southampton resident, receives the Oxford / AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine from a member of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service at a temporary vaccination center at the Basingstoke Fire Station in Hampshire, southern England, while crews continue to answer 999 emergency calls.

Andrew Matthews | AFP | Getty Images

Stephen Evans, Professor of Pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “The problem with spontaneous reports of suspected vaccine side effects is the tremendous difficulty in distinguishing a causal effect from a coincidence.”

“This is especially true when we know that Covid-19 disease is very closely related to blood clotting and that there have been hundreds, if not many thousands of deaths caused by blood clotting as a result of Covid-19 disease. That first thing to do is to be absolutely sure that the clots were not caused by any other cause, including Covid-19, “added Evans.

How does the vaccine work?

The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine is designed to prevent coronavirus in people aged 18 and over. It’s made up of an adenovirus that has been modified to contain the gene to make a protein from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

The most common side effects of the shot, which does not contain the virus and cannot cause Covid, are typically mild or moderate and improve within a few days after vaccination.

In late clinical studies, the AstraZeneca-Oxford shot was found to have an average of 70% effectiveness in protecting against the virus.

A recent study by Oxford researchers found that the Covid vaccine was 76% effective at preventing symptomatic infection for three months after a single dose and that the effectiveness rate actually increased with a longer interval between the first and second dose.

– CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.

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European Nations Droop Use of AstraZeneca Photographs Over Worries About Blood Clots

European Countries Suspend Use of AstraZeneca Shots Over Worries About Blood Clots

Italy’s suspension of another batch was tied to a man in Sicily who died after receiving his shot. It is unclear whether a blood clot was involved.

The vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca has been injected into more than 142,000 people in Denmark, which has a population of around six million.

The Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Twitter that it was “currently not possible to determine whether there is a connection”. He added: “We acted early, it needs a thorough investigation.”

Denmark had already cut the target for the completion of its vaccination campaign, partly due to delivery delays. The safety break will delay it further.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine was screened for potential safety issues over the past year while being tested in clinical trials. Two vaccinated volunteers in the UK developed neurological symptoms related to transverse myelitis, an inflammatory syndrome that affects the spinal cord and is often caused by viral infections.

These concerns temporarily put the vaccine to a halt around the world, but the investigation ultimately found no evidence to link the symptoms to the vaccine. One of the sick participants was later found to have an undiagnosed case of multiple sclerosis.

Since then, more than 70 countries have approved the vaccine, with the exception of the United States, where regulators are waiting for data from a large clinical trial expected in the next few weeks. A Food and Drug Administration decision to approve AstraZeneca’s vaccine is likely more than a month away.

The largest real world data on the safety of the vaccine comes from the UK, which had given 9.7 million doses in the last month. The UK Medicines Agency, the regulator of medicines and health products, said: “The number and types of suspected adverse reactions reported to date are not uncommon when compared to other types of vaccines routinely used.”

Rebecca Robbins reported from Bellingham, Washington, and Thomas Erdbrink from Amsterdam. Jason Horowitz and Emma Bubola reported from Italy, Benjamin Mueller from London and Denise Grady from New York.

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Her White Blood Rely Was Dangerously Low. Was Med Faculty Nonetheless Secure?

Her White Blood Count Was Dangerously Low. Was Med School Still Safe?

In Niyongere’s office, she first spoke to an intern who disappeared after a full medical history and examination, and then returned with the young doctor the patient had spoken to by phone. A distant part of her brain observed that her doctor was younger than her.

The hematologist sat across from the patient and slowly explained what she knew. In someone who is otherwise healthy and whose other blood types are fine, this severe drop in neutrophils – what is medically called neutropenia – is usually caused by a drug. There were of course other options. Nutritional deficiencies could do this. Insufficient vitamin B12 or copper can affect the blood count. Some viral infections – HIV, mono, hepatitis – could also occur. And they would look for it. But her money was for drugs. The doctor knew that the only drug the patient was taking regularly was Adderall; She had a history of ADHD, and Niyongere had not found anything in the medical literature to associate this drug with neutropenia. Still, the haematologist insisted that this was the most likely cause of her isolated neutropenia.

They would be looking for infections. They would check their levels of vitamins and minerals. And if all of this were normal, the next step would be a bone marrow biopsy. The doctor expected it to be normal – with lots of blood cells of all kinds being made and released. Her first hematologist was right that a cancer or disease process that interfered with the production of these vital defenders was possible – but how healthy the patient looked and felt was very unlikely, according to Niyongere. In the meantime, she should stop the Adderall.

The following week was busy as the student prepared to resume the portion of her medical school education. In just a few days she would be in the hospital learning to care for sick patients, and she needed her immune system to be up to the task. She watched the test results come back. The vitamin levels were normal. She didn’t have any of the viruses. So that Friday the student went back to Niyongere’s office for a bone marrow biopsy. The doctor suggested doing this with sedation in the hospital operating room. No, the patient insisted. You would do it in the office. It was a difficult procedure, but the patient wanted to get it over with. She needed an answer and a few more neutrophils before she could be safe with the sick patients she would see in the hospital.

The results came back faster than expected. A wave of weakness forced her to sit down as she read the results: normal. There were no signs of leukemia or any other process that might affect your body’s ability to produce neutrophils. And she made a healthy amount of all white blood cells, including neutrophils. This meant that everything that happened to these warrior cells happened after they left the safety of the bone marrow and entered the bloodstream. That’s what you would expect if this were a response to a drug. Many drugs can cause neutropenia. Some drugs destroy these battle cells directly. Some trigger an immune response so that other parts of the body’s defense system mistake these cells for invading pathogens and attack them.

Sometimes, if it was a response to a drug, cell counts would go back up almost immediately. Neutrophils have a very short lifespan and a full set of new cells are released from the bone marrow every day. The student waited eagerly for her next blood count. Could just stopping Adderall bring them back to normal?

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A Few Covid Vaccine Recipients Developed a Uncommon Blood Dysfunction

A Few Covid Vaccine Recipients Developed a Rare Blood Disorder

On January 29th, Dr. Bussel Mrs. Legaspis doctor, Dr. Niriksha Chandrani, an email labeled “My Strong Recommendations,” stated that he was “very afraid” that Ms. Legaspi would have a cerebral haemorrhage and recommended a different course of treatment. Dr. Chandrani, chief oncology physician at Elmhurst, realized that Dr. Bussel was a leading authority on platelet disorder, and she took his advice.

She had spent several sleepless nights worrying about Ms. Legaspi.

“I didn’t want her to die,” said Dr. Chandrani.

Recognition…about Luz Legaspi

A day later, Ms. Legaspi’s platelet count had reached 6,000: “Slow but steady progress,” said Dr. Bussel. The next morning it was 40,000, which got them out of the most perilous zone. Two days later, on February 1, there were 71,000.

It’s impossible to tell if the new treatments worked, if the first started, or if she recovered on its own. But on February 2, she went home from the hospital to the Queens apartment she shares with her daughter and 7-year-old grandson. On February 4, her daughter said Ms. Legaspi’s platelet count was 293,000.

Another vaccine recipient, Sarah C., 48, a teacher in Arlington, Texas, received the Moderna vaccine on January 3rd. She asked not to use her full name to protect her privacy.

Two weeks later, she began to have profuse vaginal bleeding. After two days, she saw her obstetrician, who ordered blood tests and other tests. A few hours later he called and urged her to go straight to the emergency room. He was stunned, hoping it was a lab mistake, but her blood count showed no platelets. She had had an exam less than a week before the vaccination and blood test results were completely normal.

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Research Says Blood Plasma Reduces Threat of Extreme Covid-19 if Given Early

Study Says Blood Plasma Reduces Risk of Severe Covid-19 if Given Early

It will be difficult “to find and diagnose them in this vanishingly small window,” said Dr. Ilan Schwartz, an infectious disease doctor at the University of Alberta who was not involved in the study. “The study looks solid, but it isn’t exactly practical in the real world.”

Plasma has additional logistical hurdles, said Dr. Titanji from Emory University. Treatment is given as an intravenous infusion – a process that requires skilled hands – and patients must be monitored afterward. That might be easier in long-term care facilities, but far more difficult for the general population, she said.

And plasma may not work as well as monoclonal antibody therapy – a synthetic preparation that is made en masse in the laboratory and not drawn from human blood, and that focuses on only one or two types of antibody at a time, rather than the total amount produced naturally by the immune system. Two types of monoclonal antibody treatments have been approved for emergencies in Covid patients.

But plasma has some advantages over monoclonal antibody treatments, emphasized Dr. Polack.

Because monoclonal antibodies are synthetic and tedious to make, they come at a high price, sometimes costing thousands of dollars (although the US government has prepaid some doses). The limited supply chain of treatment, as well as unexpectedly low demand, have made it inaccessible to many patients in need in the US and abroad.

In countries like Argentina, plasma could be one of the best treatment options available, said Dr. Polack. Plasma infusions in Buenos Aires cost less than $ 200 per patient. “It’s more accessible, cheaper, more universal,” he said.

Even in the United States, plasma “really is the only game in town that is widely available in terms of antibody therapy,” said Dr. Wang from Stanford.

Instead of viewing monoclonal antibodies as an upgrade for convalescent plasma, “they each have a different place in the armory,” said Dr. Pirofski. “Anything this virus can control is really an incredible benefit at this point.”