No change to vaccine advice after young nurse develops clots
By Stuart Layt and Felicity Caldwell
There has been no change to the advice around use of the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine, health authorities said, after a trainee nurse in Brisbane developed a blood clot weeks after getting the vaccination.
Ellie Peacock wrote on her social media accounts that she received her first dose of the vaccine on March 31, just days before updated advice recommended people younger than 50 not receive the AstraZeneca vaccine because of concerns over clotting.
Ellie Peacock developed blood clots weeks after receiving her AstraZeneca dose.Credit:Ellie Peacock/ Facebook
On April 18, the 18-year-old went to hospital with pain in her calf, which she suspected was a blood clot, but an ultrasound did not show any signs and she was sent home with painkillers.
Over the next few weeks, Ms Peacock was in and out of hospital with pain in different parts of her body, before being admitted with pneumonia in early May.
She was again discharged, but two days later was readmitted after her blood oxygen levels dropped, and an X-ray revealed blood clots in her lungs.
Ms Peacock wrote that she was now recovering well, but the whole ordeal had been frightening.
“The experience has been terrifying and overwhelming but I’m on the mend. Now to focus on my health for the next six months,” she wrote.
“Please always listen to your body because no one knows it as well as yourself.”
Ms Peacock confirmed on her social media that she was being treated for TTS, the abbreviation for “thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome”, a condition that causes blood clots to form.
People who have been given the AstraZeneca vaccine are now monitored for TTS after a number of people who received the vaccine developed blood clots days or even weeks later.
Authorities maintain the number of blood clots associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine is no greater than the background incidence of the condition.Credit:Stuart Layt
The Therapeutic Goods Administration said it could not comment directly on the trainee nurse’s case, but said it had not changed its advice around the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“The TGA is monitoring the numbers of cases of blood clot disorders ... being reported in association with both COVID-19 vaccines currently in use in Australia and comparing them against the number of expected events in the population in the absence of vaccination,” the TGA said in a statement.
“The overall number of reports received is no higher than the expected background rate for the more common type of blood clots in Australia, which occur in around 50 Australians every day irrespective of their vaccination status.”
The regulatory body said it was monitoring cases of TTS, and as of May 13 this year, there had been 18 reports of patients developing blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine that the TGA considered likely to be linked to vaccination.
Queensland infectious disease physician Paul Griffin said it was important to put the case in perspective.
“The type of clotting that has been reported in this case would not be typical for what we’ve seen in TTS cases which have been officially linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine,” Professor Griffin said.
“The key point here is on her wellbeing and I wish her a speedy recovery. We also need to wait for the testing surrounding the case to come back and be assessed by the TGA before we assume this is another related case.”
Professor Griffin, who sits on the AstraZeneca advisory board, said the fact the nurse received her dose before the official advice on the AstraZeneca vaccine changed meant even if her case was linked it was unlikely to be repeated.
Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said she was unaware of the particular circumstances of the nurse, but all negative reactions from Pfizer or AstraZeneca were reported to the TGA.
“It’s for the TGA to consider all of the elements, any underlying factors, circumstances around any individual’s reactions, including getting those particular blood clots, to see whether they’re proposing any change to the advice,” she said.
Ms D’Ath said most health workers were receiving the Pfizer vaccine because they were younger than 50.
She said the Queensland government had called on the Commonwealth to expand the eligibility to administer AstraZeneca to all GPs who were part of the national immunisation program.
“The reason why that’s important is because the best person to advise an individual of the risks and to help them reach informed consent is their own GP who knows their medical history,” she said.
Stuart Layt covers health, science and technology for the Brisbane Times. He was formerly the Queensland political reporter for AAP.
Felicity Caldwell is state political correspondent at the Brisbane Times