AstraZeneca second dose and rare thrombosis risk, what the Cts says

The green light for the booster with AstraZeneca anti-Covid Vaxzevria * vaccine even in under 60s who, after receiving the first AZ dose, refuse the mix with an mRna product, has received a favorable opinion from the Technical Scientific Committee for the coronavirus emergency also because “there is to be considered the benefit deriving from the cancellation of the risk connected to the partial protection conferred by the administration of a single dose of Vaxzevria”. The danger, that is, that the vaccinated in the first dose does not undergo the second to avoid the heterologous scheme. This is one of the points highlighted by the CTS, in the opinion expressed yesterday 18 June and attached to the circular issued on the subject by the Ministry of Health. Another consideration of the Cts is that “thromboembolic phenomena are less frequently observed after administration of the second dose” AZ: “According to estimates from the United Kingdom – the opinion reads – they are equal to 1.3 cases per million, a value which corresponds less than a tenth of the already rare phenomena observed after the first dose. According to what was reported by the general manager of Aifa – it is recalled – to date, in Italy, no cases of Vitt have been recorded after the second administration of Vaxzevria “.” Cts – reads the opinion attached to the ministerial circular – preliminarily confirming the assessments made in the session of last June 11, based on the benefit / potential risk ratio of thrombosis in unusual locations associated with thrombocytopenia (Vitt), in the context of different viral circulation scenarios, unanimously shares “various considerations.” In compliance with a principle of maximum caution inspired to prevent the onset of phenomena Vitt in subject cts at low risk of developing serious Covid-19 pathology and a principle of fairness that requires to ensure equal conditions for balancing benefits / risks to all subjects “, the CTS first of all” confirms the recommendation, already expressed on 11 June, to use of an mRna vaccine in subjects under the age of 60 “. However, in the second point of the opinion, the Technical Scientific Committee recalls precisely that “thromboembolic phenomena are less frequently observed after administration of the second dose”. Third, “on the basis of the available evidence, the protection conferred by a single priming dose of Vaxzevria vaccine is partial, being very significantly increased by the administration of a second dose (booster)”. And “the risks associated with partial protection can take on further danger in epidemiological contexts characterized by high circulation of variants such as the Delta variant” or Indian, warns the CTS. The fourth consideration of the CTS is that “the Vaxzevria vaccine is approved by the European and Italian regulatory agencies (Ema and Aifa) for subjects over 18 years of age”. “All of this said – concludes the Technical-Scientific Committee in the opinion attached to the circular of the Ministry of Health – if a person aged between 18 and 59 years, after having received the first dose of Vaxzevria vaccine, even in the face of documented and accurate information provided by the vaccinator or by the operators of the vaccination center on the risks of Vitt, refusals without the possibility of convincing the crossing to vaccine at mRna, the CTS believes that, in the context of the indications coming from the health authorities of the country and after the acquisition of adequate informed consent, autonomy in choices concerning the health of the individual must be guaranteed “.