[Sundaycommunity] Fwd: An update about the AstraZeneca Vaccine

Wed May 12 14:55:53 PDT 2021

Good information to know and to pass on to others. Catherine

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: St. Michael's Hospital Academic Family Health Team <
smhafhtquality at smh.ca>
Date: Wed, May 12, 2021 at 5:48 PM
Subject: An update about the AstraZeneca Vaccine
To: catherine.walther at gmail.com <catherine.walther at gmail.com>

Dear patients,

Yesterday the Ontario government made a decision to pause use of the
AstraZeneca vaccine. We’ve put together this Q&A to try and answer some of
your questions about the decision and address some of the stress you may be
feeling.

*Why did the government decide to pause use of the AstraZeneca vaccine?*

We now know that the AstraZeneca vaccine is associated with a syndrome
involving unusual blood clots and reduced platelets. This syndrome is most
commonly called VITT (Vaccine-Induced Thrombotic Thombocytopenia). It
happens between 4 and 28 days after the vaccine and occurs in around 1 in
every 50,000 injections
<https://incoming.sbemail1.com/linktracker2/?%7B0~catherinevke2edmbepwaltherczd0h8pykugmailvke2edmbepcom%7D%7B58734cf0-8f1e-4553-a0e6-0a27e006baff%7D%7B%7D%7Bhttps%3a%2f%2fcovid19-sciencetable.ca%2fsciencebrief%2frisk-of-vaccine-induced-thrombotic-thrombocytopenia-vitt-following-the-astrazeneca-covishield-adenovirus-vector-covid-19-vaccines%2f%7D%7B%7D%7B%7D>.
You
can read more about VITT here
<https://incoming.sbemail1.com/linktracker2/?%7B0~catherinevke2edmbepwaltherczd0h8pykugmailvke2edmbepcom%7D%7B58734cf0-8f1e-4553-a0e6-0a27e006baff%7D%7B%7D%7Bhttps%3a%2f%2ftrk.cp20.com%2fclick%2fd8yp-2e7xmj-4fvq5c-ccnfvqa3%2f%7D%7B%7D%7B%7D>
.

The government made the decision to pause the use of AstraZeneca because of
the small risk of VITT and because we will very soon have enough other
vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) to vaccinate everyone in Ontario even without
the AstraZeneca vaccine.

*I got the AstraZeneca vaccine. Did I make the wrong decision? Was I
misled?*

You made the right decision at the time! We are in a pandemic and what we
know is constantly changing based on new studies and reports that come out.

VITT is a rare event so it wasn’t picked up in the early trials that
included ~20,000 people. But now millions of people around the world have
had the AstraZeneca vaccine. Reporting systems around the world worked and
picked up on this rare side effect.

At first, we thought it was happening in only 1 in a million doses. But on
Friday May 7th, the Ontario Science Table issued a new report that
clarified that VITT likely occurs in 1 in 50,000 doses of AstraZeneca which
is a lot more common than we thought.

As healthcare professionals, we encouraged people to get the AstraZeneca
vaccine last month because we thought the benefits of preventing COVID-19
outweighed the risks of a serious reaction. However, now we know that the
risks are higher than we thought they were.

*Does VITT occur with other vaccines?*

VITT seems to occur with both the AstraZeneca and the Johnson and Johnson
vaccine which are both types of viral vector vaccines. It does not happen
with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines which are mRNA vaccines.

*Am I at risk of VITT?*

If you received the AstraZeneca vaccine more than 28 days ago, then you
have nothing to be concerned about.  If you received a Pfizer or Moderna
vaccine, you also have nothing to worry about.

If you received the AstraZenca vaccine within the last 28 days, there is a
very small chance you could get VITT so please watch out for the symptoms
listed below!

*What are the symptoms of VITT? What should I do if I’m worried?*

Here are the symptoms of VITT you should watch for: severe headache that
does not go away, seizure, difficulty moving part of your body, new blurry
vision or double vision that does not go away, difficulty speaking,
shortness of breath, severe chest, back, or abdominal pain, unusual
bleeding or bruising, new reddish or purplish spots, or blood blisters,
new, severe swelling, pain, or colour change of an arm or a leg.

If these symptoms are severe, please call 911 and go to the nearest
emergency department. If your symptoms are not severe, you can discuss them
(virtually or in-person) with your doctor, nurse practitioner or nurse.

Please note that after a vaccination, it is normal to feel tired, achy,
feverish, have soreness at injection site, or a mild headache within the
first 3 days. Those are not signs of VITT.

*What will happen with my second dose?*

Right now we aren’t sure. We will let you know as soon as we have this
information. We think there is a good chance you will be getting your
second dose with an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) but decision-makers
are waiting to get study results that will tell us whether that combination
is safe and effective. The study results should hopefully be available in
the next month.

If you received your AstraZeneca vaccine at our Family Health Team and have
an appointment for your second dose, please hold onto that for now.

*I got the AstraZeneca shot and I am feeling really stressed and anxious.
What can I do?*

Remember that you made a good choice to protect yourself from COVID-19 and
you are probably already getting some of that benefit! The risk of VITT is
very, very small. Keep in mind that the UK has given the vaccine to
millions of its residents and it is doing very well right now in terms of
COVID-19.

If you’re struggling with anxiety, check out this website from the
Government of Canada that provides resources and also virtual counselling
https://wellnesstogether.ca
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And of course, our team is always here for you so please call us for a
phone or in-person appointment.

Thank you,

The St. Michael's Hospital Academic Family Health Team
This message is intended for catherine.walther at gmail.com. If you do not
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.
-- 

*May you walk in joy as love calls us on.*
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