Should You Be Concerned About Blood Clots from Covishield?

The reported blood clots have resulted in the vaccine being temporarily suspended by several EU countries.

The Big Story Podcast on Astra-Zeneca/ Covishield vaccine side-effects and blood clots. Image used for representation.

(Photo: The Quint)

The Astra Zeneca vaccine, known as Covishield, has been deployed against Covid-19 in at least 115 countries for several months now.

However, the vaccine has now come under the scanner after several European countries and Australia reported rare blood-clotting disorders associated with its administration. This has resulted in several countries, like Denmark, temporarily suspending its use.

And the Astra Zeneca vaccine is not alone in reporting such types of rare blood clots. The single-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which works in a way similar to Astra Zeneca as a viral vector vaccine, has also been put on hold by the Centre for Disease Control and FDA in the US after six cases of rare blood clot-related disorders were reported.

The stakes are enormous, especially for a country like India where 90% of the inoculations are done with Covishield, and with the country reporting more than 1 lakh cases every day for the past week, public trust in the vaccine is more important than ever.

In today’s episode, we go through the complications with the Astra Zeneca vaccine, what caused the suspension of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and how significant are these concerns.

In today’s episode, you will hear Dr K Srinath Reddy, a cardiologist, an epidemiologist, and the President of the Public Health Foundation of India, talk about these concerns.