At least 36 people have developed a rare, life-threatening blood disorder called thrombocytopenia after receiving either of the two US-authorized COVID-19 vaccines.
One of them, a Miami obstetrician, Gregory Michael, died after his platelets caused his platelets to drop to virtually zero. He was only 56 years old and died of a cerebral hemorrhage just 16 days after receiving Pfizer’s shot.
Doctors also ordered 72-year-old Luz Legaspi not to leave her bed for more than a week, fearing that a swelling, bruising, falls or other minor injuries could lead to a similar hemorrhage. it would prove fatal to her.
Thrombocytopenia has been seen after other vaccines, and experts suspect that the shot works in a certain way – I still don’t know why.
But so far, platelet suppression seems to be extremely rare – affecting only 36 people out of 43 million doses given in the US – and scientists theorize that only a small portion of the population may have a predisposition that could cause vaccines to trigger blood disorder.
Of the 15 people included in a future study, only one had a recent history of low platelet counts and there were no clear common threads that could predict who might be very few to develop thrombocytopenia after vaccination.
But, with the exception of Dr. Michael, all the others have recovered so far after treatment.
Dr. Gregory Michael, 56, died of a cerebral hemorrhage due to thrombocytopenia 16 days after receiving the COfID-19 Pfizer vaccine (left). Luz Legaspi, 72, developed a rare blood condition a day after the first shot of the Moderna vaccine and had to be put to bed completely to prevent a life-threatening bleeding (right).
US administers approximately 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccinations per day and only 36 people have developed thrombocytopenia
The vast majority of people who received COVID-19 vaccines did so without incident.
But between the start of the US coronavirus vaccine launch on December 14 and January 31, 36 reports were made to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) immune thrombocytopenia (CDC) monitoring system after vaccinations, according to New York. Times.
The database records incidents that doctors and nurses observe after people receive vaccinations, but does not determine whether or not the vaccines were the cause of the reported problems, known as “adverse events.”
No cases of thrombocytopenia have been reported during Moderna or Pfizer vaccine studies.
However, since there are authorizations, the cases have been linked to each vaccine.
Pfizer told DailyMail.com that it is investigating the death of Dr. Michael, an obstetrician whose wife says he was in good health before his death in December.
“In my mind, his death was 100% related to the vaccine. There is no other explanation, ‘she told DailyMail.com in an interview last month, fighting tears.
Dr. Michael received the first dose of Pfizer’s shot on December 18 and had no immediate reaction to the shot.
But three days later, he noticed red spots all over his body.
The spots on her body were patches, warning signs of bleeding under the skin.
He went to Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami. During the examination, Dr. Michael remained optimistic and energetic.
But the blood showed that the number of platelets – fragments of disc-shaped cells that form clots to prevent uncontrolled bleeding – was zero, his wife said.
Anything under 150,000 would qualify as thrombocytopenia, but Dr. Michael’s condition was dire.
Transfusions and other attempts to restore her platelets failed in the two weeks in the hospital, and Dr. Michael eventually died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
Luz Legaspi, 72, was healthy and all for vaccination in January, when she received her first dose of Moderna.
The next day, however, he woke up with his legs and arms covered in patches and bleeding blisters in his mouth, according to the New York Times.
She was admitted to Elmhurst Hospital, Queens, New York.
At that time, Legaspi’s platelet count was zero and he was ordered not to leave the bed to prevent him from falling or injuring himself. Even a normally harmless bruise can lead to bleeding when someone does not have platelets to stop the bleeding.
In adults, thrombocytopenia can be caused by bone marrow disease, some treatments for cancer and alcoholism.
But some forms are also the result of an autoimmune disease, in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys healthy platelets instead of legitimate threats and pathogens. Sometimes thrombocytopenia occurs after viral infections.
In these cases, platelet transfusions are usually treated with steroids and immunoglobulins – a treatment designed to prevent the spleen from destroying platelets, as is the case with thrombocytopenia.
Legaspi received these treatments, but was still not improving 10 days after she was hospitalized.
Michael’s wife, Heidi Neckelman (left), said her husband’s death was due to a “strong reaction” to the vaccine. Pictured: Dr. Michael with Heidi’s wife and daughter
“I don’t think she understands that it’s like a ticking bomb,” said her daughter, who did not reveal her name at the request of her employer to the Times on Legaspi’s ninth day in hospital.
– I’m not using the term. I don’t want to tell him that.
Remarkably, a leading expert on the rare condition took the wind of Legaspi’s serious and stagnant condition and contacted her doctor in Elmhurst.
Dr. James Bussel, a pediatrician and expert in immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), which most commonly affects children, recommended changing the course, although it is unclear what specific treatment he recommended.
Within two days, Legaspi’s platelet count was over 70,000, and she was able to return home the next day, February 2.
Dr. Bussel and his colleague, Dr. Eun-Ju Lee, studied 15 cases of thrombocytopenia that developed after people received COVID-19 vaccines.
Their article is still under review for publication in a medical journal.
But he told the Times that there could be a link not only to COVID-19 vaccines, but more generally, it is not clear what.
“The fact that it happens after a vaccine is well known and has been seen with many other vaccines. “We don’t know why,” said Dr. Bussel.
“I think it is possible that there is an association.
“I guess there’s something that has made people who have developed thrombocytopenia sensitive, given the small percentage of recipients.”
Dr. Bussel, and even Luz Legaspi and her daughter, say people should continue to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and for most, thrombocytopenia will not be a problem.
However, Dr. Bussel, his colleagues, and both Pfizer and Moderna are trying to find out who might have this life-threatening reaction, so he could advise these people not to receive the vaccine, as U.S. officials have done. for people with a history of anaphylactic reactions. to any ingredients in the photos.
