A Tragedy of Early COVID Has Finally Been Explained

"Out of almost 19 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's version given in the United States during the first two years of the pandemic, at least 60 such cases were identified. Nine of them were fatal. In the United Kingdom, where almost 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca shot were given, 455 cases occurred; 81 people died. In Germany, at least 71 cases were identified, also linked to AstraZeneca."

"Now researchers believe they have cracked the case. They have hard evidence for how the blood clotting happened, and they believe that their findings could help make similar vaccines even safer. Understanding the blood-clotting problem is important, they say, because vaccines of this type could be essential in protecting people during future pandemics. The team that initially gave this condition a name-vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia, or VITT-included Andreas Greinacher, a blood expert at the University of Greifswald, in Germany."

In 2021 rare but sometimes fatal blood clots were linked to two adenovirus-based COVID vaccines: AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. Out of almost 19 million J&J doses given in the U.S. during the first two years, at least 60 cases were identified, nine fatal. In the U.K., almost 50 million AstraZeneca doses corresponded to 455 cases and 81 deaths; Germany recorded at least 71 cases tied to AstraZeneca. Use of both vaccines was paused and ultimately withdrawn. Hard evidence now explains how the clotting occurred, offering insights to make similar vaccines safer. The condition was named vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT).

Read at The Atlantic