Dr. Stuart Weiss: COVID-19 Update Tuesday 16-Mar-2021
By Dr. Stuart Weiss, Intelligent Crowd Solutions – Rapid Test Center of NY
| Rapid Test Center of New York Dr. Stuart Weiss, FACEP, FAAP, CBCP |
| March 16, 2021 CoViD-19 News and Information you can trust. Welcome new readers from the Rapid Test Center. Topics: Here’s a twisted question, does the AstraZenica/Oxford vaccine actually prevent blood clots? |
| The Mess Surrounding the AstraZenica Vaccine By now, you most probably read or heard about the whole host of European countries suspending the use of the Astrazenica/Oxford vaccine. The African Centers for Disease Control also looked into suspending the vaccine. Some countries like Australia have no plans to stop using it. The concern is about blood clots in people after they have received the vaccine. But there is a problem with this issue. Yes, out of the 17 million people who have received the vaccine, AstraZenica received reports of 15 leg blood clots and 22 lung blood clots. That sounds like a bunch of clots but this amount of blood clots is actually FAR LESS than we would expect to occur naturally in this size population. In the Emergency Department, I used to see blood clots, especially leg blood clots every day. It is a common issue but only seeing 37 cases out of 17 million people is remarkably low. So the media headlines could have easily been written differently. Instead of writing that the vaccine causes blood clots, an equally valid headline would have been that the vaccine actually prevents blood clots in the population! I’m not trying to minimize that blood clots are bad but these may not be anything out of the ordinary. The reported side effects are what we should expect in the gen3ral population. The problem here is that in many countries, the AstraZenica vaccine is the only vaccine they are using so now that they are suspending its use, people are not getting vaccinated at all. The risk of dying from CoViD-19 seems to be much higher than the almost non-existent risk of the vaccine causing blood clots. And now that many parts of Europe are seeing a new waves of cases and several countries are going into lockdown again, it seems a bad idea to suspend vaccination programs. I sincerely hope that the investigations happen quickly and they can get back to vaccinating the population. The last problem is with public confidence. Both the World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency continue to endorse the safe use of the vaccine while countries suspend its use. How are people going to trust that it is a safe vaccine? I am concerned that there will be a spike in vaccine hesitancy in many parts of the world that are depending on the AstraZenica vaccine. If that turns out to be true, that would pose a problem for all of us. Remember, a resistant variant that develops anywhere will be everywhere within a few weeks. When you are eligible, get your self vaccinated so we can get through this together. . Dr. Stu Weiss |
| COVID-19 HEADLINES FOR TODAY |
| Coronavirus update for March 16, 2021 World Wide Updates Apple updates its maps to display Covid-19 vaccination sites – just ask Siri France and Italy “stand ready” to resume AstraZeneca vaccinations pending positive agency review EU health commissioner urges countries to use all vaccine doses after some suspend use of AstraZeneca shot Iraq records highest number of new Covid-19 cases in a day South African regulator grants provisional approval for Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Italy has entered another lockdown after a surge in coronavirus cases, caused by the emergence of several new variants Venezuela will not approve use of AstraZeneca vaccine Slovenia temporarily suspends AstraZeneca vaccine WHO meets to discuss AstraZeneca vaccine as more EU countries halt rollout Sweden and Luxembourg pause use of AstraZeneca vaccine Australia says there is “currently no evidence” that AstraZeneca vaccine causes blood clots Portugal joins other European countries in suspending AstraZeneca vaccinations Brazil appoints fourth health minister since the pandemic began Thai Prime Minister receives AstraZeneca vaccine on live stream after initial rollout delay Germany, France and Italy pause AstraZeneca vaccine rollout France is seeing signs of a “third wave” in pandemic, prime minister says European Medicines Agency verdict on AstraZeneca vaccine expected Thursday Italy prepares for an Easter lockdown as Covid-19 cases grow exponentially New Philippines Covid variant found in England Iceland extends vaccine proof entry scheme Total Cases Worldwide: 121,091,888Total Deaths Worldwide: 2,677,686Total Recovered: 97,657,156 US Updates Arkansas opens Covid-19 vaccine eligibility to all groups in next phase White House says it would welcome GOP support on reducing vaccine hesitancy More than a quarter of Vermont’s population has been vaccinated All US states have fully vaccinated at least 10% of their adult population, CDC data shows New York City on track to surpass 3 million Covid-19 vaccinations today, mayor says Ohio will open vaccines to those 40 and older starting Friday, governor says Miami Beach is seeing crowds “that want to just let loose in ways that are unacceptable,” mayor says Savannah mayor says the city is “wide open” for St. Patrick’s Day, encourages masking and social distancing Asymptomatic or undiagnosed Covid-19 infections in US may have been twice the official count, study suggests Biden travels to Pennsylvania today to promote his Covid relief plan More people flew in the last 5 days than in the 5 days after Christmas, TSA data shows White House races to blunt potential Covid-19 surge Keep masks on, NIH director pleads as Texas enter 1st weekend without statewide Covid-19 restrictions Delaware will open vaccines to anyone with moderate-risk health conditions and people 50 and older NYC summer school set to expand after COVID’s ‘lost year’ 9 California counties issue joint statement to dispel belief J&J’s COVID vaccine inferior to 2-shot options Four-year-old boy with autism kicked off Spirit Airlines flight for not wearing mask Philadelphia opens coronavirus vaccine appointments to all adults starting May 1 Moderna begins testing COVID vaccine on young children and babies California governor Newsom defends Covid-19 response amid recall effort Total US cases: 30,178,419 Total US deaths: 548,846 Total Recovered: 22,343,214 Total Tested in US: 374,442,857 Total cases in CA: 3,626,562 Total deaths in CA: 55,978 Total cases in TX: 2,735,152 Total deaths in TX: 46,749 Total cases in FL: 1,984,425 Total deaths in FL: 32,472 Total cases in NY: 1,793,547 Total deaths in NY: 49,366 Total cases in IL: 1,212,110 Total deaths in IL: 23,235 Total cases in GA: 1,036,506 Total death in GA: 18,287 Total Vaccines Administered in US: 110,737,856 |
