Isolated thrombosis after COVID-19 vaccination: case series

Int J Hematol. 2022 Feb;115(2):153-157. doi: 10.1007/s12185-021-03285-6. Epub 2022 Jan 6.

Abstract

Background: Data regarding thrombosis after COVID-19 vaccination are scarce.

Methods: Clinical and laboratory data were collected from all patients who developed thrombosis within 4 weeks of receiving the Pfizer or Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. None had a COVID-19-positive swab.

Results: Seventeen patients were included, with average age of 48.8 years and equal proportion of females to males. Our data suggest that thrombosis occurred in 1 in 163,000 of all individuals who had received any dose of any type of COVID-19 vaccine: six (1 in 123,000) patients after the first dose of Oxford/AstraZeneca, none after the second dose of Oxford/AstraZeneca, four (1 in 257,000) patients after the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and seven (1 in 102,000) patients after the second dose of Pfizer vaccine. Three of 17 patients with thrombosis (17.6%) died.

Conclusions: We believe this report to be one of the earliest in the literature to address the question of whether isolated thrombosis is a possible complication of COVID-19 vaccination.

Keywords: COVID-19; Thrombosis; Vaccine.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • BNT162 Vaccine / administration & dosage
  • BNT162 Vaccine / adverse effects*
  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • COVID-19* / prevention & control
  • ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 / administration & dosage
  • ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 / adverse effects*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • SARS-CoV-2*
  • Thrombosis* / chemically induced
  • Thrombosis* / epidemiology
  • Vaccination*

Substances

  • ChAdOx1 nCoV-19
  • BNT162 Vaccine