Professor Griškevičius – about why there was confusion about the AstraZeneca vaccine

The LNK Infodiena program spoke with Professor Laimonas Griškevičius, a hematologist at the Santara Clinics, about the reasons why there was confusion in Europe and states feared the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“However, we have to say that the main European agency is the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which evaluates both the effectiveness of the medicine and possible side effects. It is also the lead agency that systematically assesses whether the number of side effects is higher than expected or whether new side effects have occurred since the widespread use of a particular drug, in this case a vaccine. This is the main body that carries the most weight, indicating whether it is safe and effective to take a particular drug or vaccine. Therefore, we should await EVA’s decision, “L. Griškevičius told Infodiena.

That decision will already be announced today, Thursday, after an urgent meeting of the EEA. It is already said that there is no evidence to suggest a link between the vaccine and the formation of thromboembolism.

When asked what data allows him to say this, L. Griškevičius replied: “EVA constantly evaluates various side effects reported by individual states, vaccinated people and doctors. This is an ongoing process. As I heard at the press conference, there have already been a number of meetings during which these side effects have been evaluated.

The EVA wants to have the data and give its opinion on whether the incidence of specific side effects is higher than would be expected without the drug. So far your decision and official opinion that the importance of using the vaccine is far greater and outweighs the potential risks. So far, this view has not changed. We look forward to thursday Briefingoduring which they will express their points of view. “

When asked to explain what a clot is and what people with certain medical indications should look for before getting vaccinated, the professor said: “A clot is a natural process that stops bleeding. We all know that when a blood vessel is damaged, the blood clots as naturally as possible. If the blood did not clot, the bleeding did not stop and in many cases ended in death.

Some diseases promote the clotting process. The reverse process, where clots form too often or abnormally, is also a disease. Those diseases include vascular damage, increased blood clotting, and blood flow disorders.

Many older people suffer from thrombosis. Thrombosis is diverse: it can be in one place, it can be in the whole body. Many people even take blood thinners.

In the case of the vaccine, its description does not indicate that it should not be used in people with impaired coagulation or predisposition to thrombosis. No bleeding disorders or thrombosis were observed in clinical trials with the vaccine compared to those who did not receive AstraZeneca.

So to say that some category of people couldn’t use this vaccine, they really couldn’t. However, we must follow the EVA view that the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the potential side effects of the vaccine. Let’s wait for the decision. “

L. Griškevičius recalled that more than 11 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and even more doses of other vaccines.

“There are definitely side effects after injecting the vaccine. It should be understood that many of these vaccines have been given to people who not only can, but also develop and have developed thrombosis.

Medications are prescribed for those for whom we expect a certain number of thromboses.

Looking at the statistics, the number of dozens of thromboses reported is very low compared to the number of thromboses expected for this age group. Therefore, to date, it has been reported that no increased risk of thrombosis has been observed. But the final science-based data will be announced on Thursday, “said L. Griškevičius.

At the same time, the professor noted that even without vaccination, thrombosis is a fairly common phenomenon.

“People complain of deep vein thrombosis, a more serious complication of thromboembolic disease, as well as other thrombotic complications. This is not a completely unusual phenomenon. This is one of the most common illnesses that a doctor faces while working in a hospital. Even outpatients are exposed to these patients.

Naturally, there are some patients who would already have thrombosis who have been vaccinated. Again, just because a thrombosis has occurred does not mean that the thrombosis occurred due to vaccination. Therefore, we need to obtain the final data from the VAS, which will answer, based on scientific evidence, if there is a link between AstraZeneca or thrombosis in other vaccines. It probably doesn’t exist, “thinks L. Griškevičius.

The doctor reminded me that the vaccine is something that saves lives.

“We need to understand once again that the vaccine saves lives. We see it also in Lithuania. Let’s not forget that a few months ago we had hundreds of deaths, especially in nursing and care facilities.

Lithuania vaccinated people living in care institutions at a very young age, most of whom are older people. The absolute majority of them are in the age category in which thrombosis is common.

And what do we see? We are seeing a dramatic decrease in deaths. We can say very clearly that vaccines in Lithuania have already saved hundreds of lives.

Much attention is paid to possible side effects, for some reason they are highly raised, but it is completely forgotten that the vaccine has already saved hundreds and thousands of lives in Lithuania and hundreds of thousands of lives in the world.

As long as there is no conclusive evidence that the vaccine poses a greater risk, we must vaccinate people, as we have done, to save their lives, ”said prof. L. Griškevičius.