Blood clots and thrombocytopenia are medical, and popular terms for a natural process that affects bleeding and clotting. They are part of the miraculous way in which our bodies regenerate, and heal themselves as the years pass. However, if something disturbs the process and it swings one way or the other, we could be in trouble because we cannot survive without blood flowing through our veins. Once again we have signs COVID vaccines may affect this.
We Don’t Know How and Why the Vaccine Plays a Role
However, we do know that we have blood cells that scientists call ‘platelets’ in our blood according to Mayo Clinic. These regulate it’s ‘clot-ability’, so our blood flows freely ferrying oxygen throughout our bodies. But at the same time, platelets congeal our blood if we have an injury to stop the loss of precious liquid.
Of course, not all of us have perfect balance in this regard People with a rare condition called hemophilia have a genetic condition that discourages blood clots. Whereas those with another condition called thrombocytopenia find their blood thickening when there’s no need to. It’s all to do with the platelet count in our blood.
Are Vaccines Causing Blood Clots and Thrombocytopenia?
We can’t confirm that either way, because scientists simply do not know. However, there is evidence a very small number of people who have the Johnson & Johnson vaccine develop thrombocytopenia. Mayo Clinic says previously known causes of this include ‘a bone marrow disorder such as leukemia or an immune system problem’. So there could be a link and we need to understand it.
Therefore, medical authorities in US, South Africa and European Union have temporarily stopped the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson COVID jab. This is in line with US Federal Drug Administration advice ‘out of an abundance of caution’.
There have been six cases of thrombocytopenia and blood clots in US after 6.8 million Johnson & Johnson vaccinations so far, and one person died. All six cases were in women aged between 18 and 48. The symptoms appeared 6 to 13 days after vaccination according to BBC. The death rate for COVID-19 in US is just over 18,000 per one million infections.
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