Thrombosis concerns with European batch of AstraZeneca vaccine

And the UK variant appears to be more deadly as well as more transmissible.

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Welcome to The Medical Republic’s COVID Catch-Up.

It’s the day’s COVID-19 news in one convenient post. Email bianca@biancanogrady.com with any tips, comments or feedback.

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12 March

• Three European countries suspend AstraZeneca vaccine after four reports of thrombosis events.
• UK variant more deadly as well as being more transmissible.
• Latest COVID-19 infection numbers from around Australia.

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Four reports of thromboembolic events associated with the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine have led to several European countries suspending use of the vaccine.
Austria reported one fatal case of multiple thrombosis and one case of pulmonary embolism after vaccination, and two other cases have also been reported, all associated with the same batch of vaccine.
The European Medicines Agency said in a statement that there was no indication the vaccine had caused the thromboembolic events but their safety committee was reviewing the evidence.
However Denmark, Norway and Iceland have all placed their AstraZeneca vaccinations on hold.

In addition to increased transmissibility, research suggests the UK SARS-CoV-2 variant might also be associated with increased mortality.
In a paper published in the BMJ, researchers looked at outcomes in more than 109,000 individuals who tested positive to SARS-CoV-2 between October 2020 and January 2021, half of whom were infected with the UK variant.
Those with the UK variant had a 64% higher risk of death overall, compared to those with the original SARS-CoV-2 variant. However the risk of death among those with the variant was 2.4-fold higher in the 15-28 days after infection.
The study also found evidence suggesting those with the variants had a higher viral load than those without, which the authors suggested may be a contributor to the higher mortality.
“Clinicians at the front line should be aware that a higher mortality rate is likely even if quality of practice remains unchanged,” the authors wrote.

Here are the latest COVID-19 infection numbers from around Australia to 9pm Thursday:
National – 29,090 with 909 deaths
ACT – 123 (0)
NSW – 5226 (6)
NT – 105 (0)
QLD – 1373 (5)
SA – 624 (1)
TAS – 234 (0)
VIC – 20,483 (0)
WA – 922 (1)