Illustration by Emily Stevenson.

All information correct as of 22/04/21.

 

If you paid even passing attention to the news over the last three weeks, you will have heard that some Covid-19 vaccines which people are relying heavily on for normality to return, are causing blood clots in some adults. To date, AstraZeneca has been pulled from being administered to anyone under 60 in Ireland and Johnson and Johnson has only resumed their distribution of their vaccine to Europe in the past couple of days. These events have come about over fears that the vaccines are causing blood clots in young adults. 

 

So what are the risks? Well so far, AstraZeneca has been shown to cause cerebral venus sinus thrombosis in 169 cases, and splanchnic vein thrombosis in 53 cases of 34 million jabs administered in the UK and Europe. Both of these conditions cause blood clots. These side effects have occurred in roughly 0.000653% of doses administered. This has led to the EMA listing blood clots as a rare side effect of the vaccine. Most of these cases were in women aged under 60, but, according to the EMA, current evidence did not suggest age or gender were a risk factor of experiencing blood clots in the vaccine.

 

Blood clots are a risk factor attached to many medicine and vaccinations, most namely the contraceptive pill. Chances of a blood clot when taking the contraceptive pill are, roughly (depending on the brand of contraceptive pill you are on), 3 to 15 in every 10,000 women every year. These associated risks also escalate if you smoke, are overweight, or have a family history of blood clots. For comparison, in the worst case scenario in a single year, this is a 0.15% chance of a blood clot. Substantially more than an AstraZeneca vaccine, right? That is what plain FDA and EMA sources claim. Yet still AstraZeneca is no longer being given to people under 60 and Johnson and Johnson have suspended their rollout. 

 

As someone who has been on the contraceptive pill since I was 15 for medical reasons, I find the total and utter scare because of the rare chance of a blood clot due to this vaccine absolutely abhorrent. Your odds are substantially higher if you’re on the pill, but any doctor I’ve ever seen has told me not to worry about it – that the chances are pretty slim, and that as long as you get your blood pressure checked every 6 months to a year, you should be fine. 

 

So what is the problem with the vaccine, exactly? If you smoke, your chances of getting a blood clot are 17% more likely than if you don’t.  Also, if you happen to be badly infected with Covid-19, your chances of developing a blood clot are 30-70%. I’m no mathematician, but I would say that it is an awful lot more likely than any Covid-19 vaccine on the market. If my doctor doesn’t think about my chances of a blood clot on pill, which is higher than any vaccine, I fail to see why the risk of blood clotting is a reason for me not to receive certain vaccines. The pill has functioned like this for decades  while the vaccines are new, my chances of developing a blood clot on the contraceptive pill are significantly higher.

 

Not only is it annoying to have your health constantly up for public debate as a woman, but it is still more harrowing to see that people are more worried about a blood clot risk in a vaccine than a much more elevated risk on the pill. Sure it’s been circulating social media the last week, but these are important statistics to take into consideration. It is good that this conversation is being broached, but there needs to be a more pragmatic solution to this issue. The pill is given to young girls and women everyday, and those chances aren’t an issue to most doctors, No one stops the rollout of the pill to young people because it has a blood clot risk, and no one becomes pessimistic about its efficacy because there is a very low risk of a clot. The idea is bonkers to me, and, as I’ve said, I’ve been on the pill since I was 15. During the period between then and now, I smoked for two years, which elevated my risks twofold. Strictly speaking, I’m also slightly overweight, which elevates by risk as well. However, my gynaecologist and my GP have absolutely no problem with renewing my pill prescription every 6 months after a general checkup. This has been the case for a long time. Why are vaccines suddenly so different? 

 

 

If reading this has piqued your interest in the relationship between contraceptives and blood clots, it is perhaps worth my providing a little bit more information on the topic and explaining how the relationship varies depending on the method of contraception used:

 

The risks on blood clots in different contraceptives vary. While the pill means you are two to six times more likely to form a blood clot, contraceptives like the mini-pill (Progesterone-Only Oral Contraceptives), you are no more likely to form a blood clot than a woman not on contraceptives. With the Patch, you are more likely to develop blood clots than on any other form of contraceptive; while the coil (IUDs) does not increase your chances of a blood clot. Links between contraceptives and blood clots largely lie with whether or not they alter your hormone levels.