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Medicine

German Scientists Identify Possible Cause of Vaccine Blood Clots (telegraph.co.uk) 95

Posted by BeauHD from the puzzle-solved dept.
Hmmmmmm shares a report from The Telegraph: Scientists in Germany believe they have discovered why the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccines cause potentially fatal blood clots in rare cases, and claim the issue can be fixed with a minor adjustment. The authors of a new study claim their findings show that it is not the key component of the vaccines that cause the clotting, but a separate vector virus that is used to deliver them to the body (Warning: source paywalled; alternative source). Both the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson jabs use a modified adenovirus, similar to the common cold virus, to deliver the spike protein of SarsCov2, the virus that causes Covid-19. The scientists claim the delivery mechanism means the spike protein is sent into the cell nucleus rather than the cellular fluid, where the virus usually generates proteins. In rare cases, they argue, parts of the spike protein can splice inside the nucleus, creating mutant versions which do not bind to the cell membrane where immunization takes place, but are secreted into the body, where they can cause blood clots.

These claims are only one of a number of hypotheses currently being explored on why the jabs cause blood clots in some people. A rival German study led by Prof Andreas Greinacher of Greifswald University Hospital claimed the clots were being caused by EDTA, a chemical used as a preservative in the AstraZeneca vaccine. In a two-step process, the vaccine can cause an overreaction by the immune system in some people which causes too many platelets to form in the blood, Prof Greinacher argues. EDTA can cause the cells in blood vessels to become "leaky," causing platelets and proteins to flood through the body, triggering a massive immune reaction that can cause the blood clots.

A third German study released in preprint this week by scientists at Ulm University Medical Centre claims to have found unusually high levels of proteins in the AstraZeneca vaccine which it is theorized could be behind the clots. "The often-observed strong clinical reaction one or two days after vaccination is likely associated with the detected protein impurities," the authors of the study wrote. The type of proteins involved "are known to affect innate and acquired immune responses and to intensify existing inflammatory reactions," Prof Stefan Kochanek, the study leader, said. "They have also been linked to autoimmune reactions."

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