Chris Seeks Specifics On Link Between Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis And Covid Vaccinations
Christopher Chope Conservative, Christchurch
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS website on cavernous sinus thrombosis, last reviewed on August 2021, which outlines that this blood clot can occur in very rare cases between four days and four weeks after covid-19 vaccinations, which types of covid-19 vaccination this applies to; and if he will reference this risk in all covid-19 vaccination patient information leaflets.
Neil O'Brien The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Summary of Product Characteristics and patient information leaflets for COVID-19 vaccines list the risks associated with these products. The product information for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine warns that extremely rare cases of blood clots with low levels of blood platelets have been observed following vaccination. When these blood clots do occur, it may be in unusual or atypical locations. Blood clots in the brain, not associated with low level of blood platelets, have also been observed very rarely following vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Blood clots with thrombocytopenia including in unusual locations have also been reported with the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine in other countries and are included as very rare side effects in its product information. Blood clots in veins have also been observed very rarely with the Janssen vaccine. This vaccine is similar to the AstraZeneca vaccine as it is an adenoviral vaccine and while is authorised in the United Kingdom, it has not been deployed in the COVID-19 vaccination programme.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has monitored these events with the other vaccines used in the UK COVID-19 vaccination programme. Following administration of over 80 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and over 11 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, the available evidence does not suggest an increased risk of bloods clots, with or without thrombocytopenia, following administration of either of these mRNA vaccines. Therefore, this risk is not included as a side effect in the product information for the Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Safety experience with the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, mainly from other countries, does not suggest that this vaccine is associated with an increased risk of blood clots and so these events are not listed as side effects in the product information.
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