Astra Zeneca vaccine on hold

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.statnews.com/2020/09/08/astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-study-put-on-hold-due-to-suspected-adverse-reaction-in-participant-in-the-u-k/
 

the astra Zeneca vaccine trial has been placed on hold after a serious adverse event in a participant in the UK.  

[Ausmumof3]

From the discussion I’m reading it’s not overly uncommon.  I guess when you are trialling something over several thousand people the likelihood of someone having some kind of illness or medical event unrelated to the vaccine is quite high.  So now they need to ascertain whether the adverse event is vaccine linked or not.  Apparently Astra Zeneca shares went down more than 6pc on the basis of the news.  I think this is the vaccine that Aus has signed up to produce if successful so that will be bad news for the Aus government.

The good news is the fact that the trial has been paused demonstrates they aren’t rushing things and are following safety protocol correctly which means hopefully long term we can have more trust in the vaccine if it does pass.

[Ausmumof3]

BNO; 1 volunteer in the UK has been diagnosed with transverse myelitis, an inflammatory syndrome affecting the spinal cord which is often sparked by viral infections. It's still unknown if the person's condition is directly linked to the vaccine - NYT
 

this does sound quite concerning unless the person has had another viral illness

[Ausmumof3]

From NY times

“A person familiar with the situation, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the participant had been enrolled in a Phase 2/3 trial based in the United Kingdom. The individual also said that a volunteer in the U.K. trial had been found to have transverse myelitis, an inflammatory syndrome that affects the spinal cord and is often sparked by viral infections. However, the timing of this diagnosis, and whether it was directly linked to AstraZeneca’s vaccine, is unclear.”

[Ausmumof3]

And from WIKI on the prognosis for Transverse Myelitis

“The prognosis for TM depends on whether there is improvement in 3 to 6 months. Complete recovery is not likely if no improvement occurs within this time. Incomplete recovery can still occur; however, aggressive physical therapy and rehabilitation will be very important. One-third of people with TM experience full recovery, one-third experience fair recovery but have significant neurological deficits, such as spastic gait. The final third experience no recovery at all.^[8]“

[cintinative]

I have Transverse Myelitis, currently inactive, but I could get another attack since they don't know what caused it. This is one thing that makes me nervous about the vaccine.  Thanks for sharing Ausmomof3.  For me personally, it caused pain and tingling in my feet and legs, sometimes it was bad enough to keep me up at night.  I still get the symptoms sometimes but rarely.  Some people end up unable to walk for months and then have to go through extensive physical therapy. Some people never totally recover their function.  

[BeachGal]

Adar Poonawalla at the Serum Institute of India (SII) said that the reaction is not directly linked to the vaccine and that the person had an existing neurological condition. India is not pausing their trial.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/impact-on-india-covid-oxford-vaccine-trials-serum-institute-ceo-astrazeneca-adar-poonawalla-1720131-2020-09-09

I've read that this is actually a second pause and that the first pause was also due to pre-existing transverse myelitis. Probably best to carefully consider your options, @cintinative.