There is No Relationship Between AstraZeneca Vaccine Use and Thromboembolic Events (CAPM Director)

No relationship has been established between the use of AstraZeneca vaccine and the occurrence of clotting disorders and thromboembolic events, said director of the Moroccan poison control and pharmacovigilance Center (CAPM), Rachida Soulaymani Bencheikh.

Whether at the level of the central vaccination Committee, the technical Committee of pharmacovigilance or the national Commission of Pharmacovigilance, and given the data we have, “today the position of Morocco is that there is no relationship that can be retained between the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine and the occurrence of thromboembolic events,” said Soulaymani Bencheikh in an interview with MAP TV channel (M24).

“In Morocco, we have had four reports of thromboembolic events that occurred approximately one week to 10 days after taking the vaccine,” she said, noting that these events occurred in elderly patients, who have other risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension or sedentary lifestyle.

“Within the general population, the incidence of thromboembolic events stands at 1.5 per 1,000 people, whereas in Morocco, out of 5 million people vaccinated, only 4 cases have been reported, i.e. less than 1 case per 1 million inhabitants,” she explained.

“With everything that’s being conveyed by the media and what is happening abroad, people will tend to associate any event with the vaccine,” Soulaymani Bencheikh said, noting that “our opinion on the matter has been reinforced by experts, who say that these patients have exactly the same profile as those we see regularly, regardless of the vaccine”.

Indeed, a meeting was held on Wednesday, with 16 experts, including neurologists, cardiologists and internists, operating in different hospitals, who are used to seeing this kind of case, she said, stating that “these experts concluded that the four patients who developed thromboembolic events have exactly the same profile as the patients they receive regularly, regardless of the vaccine”.

In addition, Soulaymani Bencheikh stressed that “we are in the observation phase for a rapid detection of undesirable phenomena.”

“Since the launch of the vaccination campaign, we have had around 1.3 declarations made for every 1,000 people vaccinated, which is good, because it gives us visibility on what is happening on the ground.”

The declarations and collection operations of expected and unexpected effects have been noted and among the expected effects, there are the manifestations that have been discovered during clinical trials or those usually caused by the injection of any type of vaccine (fatigue, soreness, fever, redness, a little pain), explained the official.

Among the expected, but relatively more serious, reactions are cases of severe allergy, she added, noting, however, that these are rare cases, “because it is known beforehand whether a person can develop severe allergies.”

“We have 1 to 2 cases of severe allergy on 1 million people vaccinated,” she said.

In this regard, the ministry of Health has already trained all the staff of vaccination centers to conduct an interview with patients and ensure the elimination of all persons prone to develop this type of reaction, noted Soulaymani Bencheikh, recalling that the person who is vaccinated must remain, at least, 20 minutes in the vaccination site.

Commending the establishment by the Health department of Yakadaliqah application for medical monitoring and reporting of adverse events as well as the remarkable adherence of the population to this operation, Soulaymani Bencheikh noted that 60% of declarations of adverse events came from this application.