Five years after the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines started, it seems the mystery of why the Astra-Zeneca and J&J vaccines led to a rare but deadly side effect of unusual blood clots and bleeding has finally been solved.

[kakape@mas.to]

Five years after the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines started, it seems the mystery of why the Astra-Zeneca and J&J vaccines led to a rare but deadly side effect of unusual blood clots and bleeding has finally been solved. 

It's a fascinating case of molecular mimicry that may help make vaccine safer.

https://www.science.org/content/article/rare-dangerous-side-effects-some-covid-19-vaccines-explained

[kakape@mas.to]

I remember the fear and confusion of those early days when Gretchen Vogel and I were trying to make sense of the reports. And I have to say that reading a scientific paper has rarely given me the sense of satisfaction that this piece of scientific sleuthing did.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2514824

[forteller@tutoteket.no]

Høres interessant ut for deg, @civix ^

[rdnielsen@floss.social]

@kakape
It's not a fatal complication, so arguably less deserving of attention, but I hope that somebody is also looking into lower limb lymphedema following mRNA vaccination.

[fishnameddog@mastodon.social]

@kakape and THIS, folks, is how actual scientists address concerns about vaccine safety.
(also, cool!)

[lkdc@dmv.community]

@kakape Great article!

I noticed that your profile at the bottom includes the logos for X and LinkedIn, and text stating your Bluesky name. May I suggest that you also include a link to your Mastodon account?

[0x4d6165@wanderingwires.net]

@kakape good to know, my first COVID vaccine was J&J ​​

[wintergr33n@lingo.lol]

@kakape

I knew someone who immediately went out to get vaccinated at the start and then needed triple bypass surgery.

I found out about it years after it happened.

[jeridansky@sfba.social]

@kakape This is so cool! Thanks for sharing.

[abscientist@forall.social]

@Wintergr33n @kakape

But wasn't this side effect something that happened to the brain, not the heart?

[mancavgeek@social.teamb.space]

@kakape I well remember the Anti-Vaxxers bleating "See, we said the vaccines weren't safe!" ehen the first of these death were announced - but, looking at the numbers tells a different story.
If everyone in the UK received one of these vaccines, an incidence rate of 1/200000 would mean that there would be around 350 cases across the ~70 million population - compare this to the number of casualties in road accidents (29,467 in 2024), and the vaccines are obviously much safer.
Similarly, a 360 million population in the US would suggest ~1800 cases, which sounds a lot, until you realise just how many people are killed by the Second Amendment - 16,576 in 2024 .
Most US Anti-Vaxxers are also ammosexuals, yet they are perfectly happy to accept the much higher risk of being shot than getting a shot.
And the fact that these vaccines were withdrawn so quickly after problems came up just reinforces the value of the scientific method, rather than the woo-woo of things like bleach injections, or hydroxychloroquine, which the Anti-Vaxxers seem to prefer.
As a layperson, I find reports like this reassuring.

[energisch_@troet.cafe]

@kakape This is great! In future, people could be tested, if they are part of the risk group. Forward to @docjosiahboone - surely interesting

[docjosiahboone@wien.rocks]

@energisch_ @kakape
Hab's doch schon gelesen.

[energisch_@troet.cafe]

@docjosiahboone @kakape