Note: The below statement was shared in its original version by Dr. Menaka Pai, hematologist and thrombosis medicine physician at Hamilton Health Sciences, on her Twitter account on Friday, March 19, 2021. In it, Dr. Pai emphasizes that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine far outweigh the risks. The open letter was then sent to The Press by Hamilton Health Sciences.
This is a long thread on vaccines and blood clots (from somebody who spends an inordinate amount of time thinking about, preventing, and treating blood clots).
Yesterday Health Canada and PHAC, MHRA, the European Medicines Agency, and my profession’s organization – Thrombosis Canada – made clear statements that risks posed by the AstraZeneca vaccine are far outweighed by its benefits. Does that square with media reports? Should we really get the first shot available to us?
I love my job as a blood and blood clot specialist – love it! So much of it focuses on talking to people about risks and how to stay safe despite those risks. A lot of common medical procedures, drugs, and life experiences (aging, pregnancy) increase your blood clot risk. But, we take them on anyway because we’ve weighed our individual risk and benefit in the moment. We do so because we’ve decided that what’s on the other side is worth it – a new hip, a new baby, prevention of pregnancy, the long plane ride, the limb saving cast…
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