Researchers have found that the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, developed with Oxford University, increases the risk of vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT), a rare but potentially fatal blood clotting disorder. This condition emerged following the use of the adenovirus vector-based Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, marketed as Covishield in India and Vaxzevria in Europe, during the height of the Covid pandemic in 2021.

VITT is caused by an autoantibody directed against platelet factor 4 (PF4). Separate research in 2023 by scientists from Canada, North America, Germany, and Italy identified a similar disorder with the same PF4 antibody, fatal in some cases, following natural adenovirus infections (common cold).

Recent research by Flinders University in Australia and international experts found that the PF4 antibodies in both adenovirus infection-associated VITT and vaccine-induced VITT share identical molecular fingerprints. According to Professor Tom Gordon from Flinders, "the pathways of lethal antibody production in these disorders must be virtually identical and have similar genetic risk factors." These findings suggest that lessons from VITT could apply to rare blood clotting cases after adenovirus infections and influence future vaccine development.

In a 2022 study, the same team decoded the molecular structure of the PF4 antibody and identified a genetic risk factor. Their new findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, have significant implications for improving vaccine safety.

AstraZeneca recently acknowledged in a legal document submitted to the High Court in February that its Covid-19 vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Syndrome (TTS). TTS, a rare side effect, causes blood clots and low blood platelet count and has been linked to the deaths of at least 81 people in the UK and hundreds of serious injuries. Consequently, AstraZeneca has voluntarily withdrawn the marketing authorization of its Covid vaccine from Europe and other global markets.

Researchers have found that the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, developed with Oxford University, increases the risk of vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT), a rare but potentially fatal blood clotting disorder. This condition emerged following the use of the adenovirus vector-based Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, marketed as Covishield in India and Vaxzevria in Europe, during the height of the Covid pandemic in 2021.

VITT is caused by an autoantibody directed against platelet factor 4 (PF4). Separate research in 2023 by scientists from Canada, North America, Germany, and Italy identified a similar disorder with the same PF4 antibody, fatal in some cases, following natural adenovirus infections (common cold).

Recent research by Flinders University in Australia and international experts found that the PF4 antibodies in both adenovirus infection-associated VITT and vaccine-induced VITT share identical molecular fingerprints. According to Professor Tom Gordon from Flinders, "the pathways of lethal antibody production in these disorders must be virtually identical and have similar genetic risk factors." These findings suggest that lessons from VITT could apply to rare blood clotting cases after adenovirus infections and influence future vaccine development.

In a 2022 study, the same team decoded the molecular structure of the PF4 antibody and identified a genetic risk factor. Their new findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, have significant implications for improving vaccine safety.

AstraZeneca recently acknowledged in a legal document submitted to the High Court in February that its Covid-19 vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Syndrome (TTS). TTS, a rare side effect, causes blood clots and low blood platelet count and has been linked to the deaths of at least 81 people in the UK and hundreds of serious injuries. Consequently, AstraZeneca has voluntarily withdrawn the marketing authorization of its Covid vaccine from Europe and other global markets.