Now AstraZeneca vaccine is linked to strokes: One British patient dies and two are hospitalised after receiving Covid jab as doctors are told to

Doctors are now being told to look out for signs of the most common type of stroke following the Oxford coronavirus vaccine, after three British patients were admitted to hospital and one died.

Two women in their 30s and a man in his 40s suffered ischaemic strokes after having the vaccine.

Previous reports of rare blood clots from the jab have specifically involved cerebral venous thrombosis – a rare form of stroke caused by the blockage of specific veins.


But this is the first time AstraZeneca's vaccine has been linked to ischaemic strokes – the most common type and occurs when clots form in major arteries, blocking the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain.



pecialists from the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at University College London (UCL) said vaccine-linked incidences were incredibly rare and far more likely to happen in people who catch Covid.

Nevertheless, they urged doctors to be on the lookout for classic stroke symptoms — such as face, arm or leg weakness, or impaired speech — in anyone who had the jab between four and 28 days later.

Any such patients should be 'urgently evaluated' for a very rare syndrome called vaccine-induced thrombosis and thrombocytopenia (VITT), they said, adding that rapid diagnosis is essential.

The first of the three patients to suffer an ischaemic stroke – a 35-year-old Asian woman who later died – experienced an intermittent headache on the right side and around her eyes six days after having her vaccine.

Five days later, she awoke feeling drowsy and with weakness to her face, arm and leg.

She underwent brain surgery to reduce pressure in her skull alongside other treatments, but these could not save her life.

The second patient, a white woman aged 37, suffered headache, confusion, weakness in her left arm and loss of vision on the left side 12 days after her vaccine. She had several treatments and survived.

The third patient, an Asian man aged 43, was admitted to hospital three weeks after receiving his vaccination with problems speaking and understanding language.

He received a platelet and plasma transfusion plus other treatment and remains stable.

David Werring, professor of clinical neurology at UCL and lead author of the report, said: ‘Although cerebral venous thrombosis – an uncommon stroke type in clinical practice – is now recognised as being the most frequent presentation of VITT, our study shows that the much more common ischaemic stroke... may also be a presenting feature of vaccine-induced thrombosis.

‘Of course, both types of thrombosis remain extremely rare, but doctors need to be vigilant if patients present with typical stroke symptoms [such as] face, arm or leg weakness, or impaired speech – due to a blocked artery any time between days four and 28 post vaccination.’

There have been 309 cases of major thrombosis with low platelet count suggesting VITT from more than 30million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine administered.

It means the chances of a blood clot from VITT after a Covid-19 vaccine is extremely low at about one per 100,000 doses.
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