Data from a new analysis of 1.7 million adults who got the AstraZeneca shot has revealed a slightly increased chance of bleeding conditions.
The study, conducted in Scotland, linked the COVID-19 shot to low platelet levels triggered by immune-induced thrombocytopenia (ITP). The side effect has also been linked to a number of other common vaccines, and is rarely dangerous or fatal. It is also different from the blood clotting issues that researchers in Europe found could be associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine earlier this year.
All told, the researchers said that data from the UK has shown that ITP normally appears in about 6-9 patients out of 100,000, and an additional 1.13 patients who took one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine experienced it as well.
But given the low chance of the ITP causing critical health problems, the researchers concluded that the benefits of getting the vaccine still outweigh the risks.
The researchers’ results were published this week in Nature Medicine.
