Professor Peter Openshaw, a member of the Covid-19 clinical information network, said a direct link between vaccines and blood clots has not yet been established. He told told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘We still don’t know whether they are directly related and caused by the vaccine but it seems possible that they could be. ‘We still have to bear in mind just how rare these events are, and we’re doing something at massive scale in terms of rolling out these vaccines, and there are many vaccines around.”

Research by RBR active™ has shown that those who are sedentary for just 90 minutes; for example, workers who sit at a desk and spend more than three hours without stretching, those on long haul flights, gamers, those in hospital, those who are pregnant, all double their risk of developing a potentially deadly blood clot. But are our ever increasingly sedentary lifestyles subjecting us all to a greater threat of developing a potentially deadly blood clots once the vaccine has been administered?

As well as causing severe respiratory problems, there is mounting evidence COVID-19 causes abnormalities in blood clotting. Patients presenting with COVID-19 appear to be at greater risk of developing blood clots in their veins and arteries. One theory is that the increased rate of blood clots in COVID-19 is simply a reflection of being particularly unwell and immobile. This is where the RBR Legflow™ a clinically researched, trialled and proven medical device’s potential to increase blood flow in the lower limbs (by over 10-fold) could well not only be a life saver, but, put simply, offer the patient extra assurance of their safety and wellbeing post vaccine treatment.

The Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee: (the committee that is responsible for assessing all aspects of the risk management of medicines for human use) looked in extreme detail at records of DIC and CVST reported from Member States, 9 of which resulted in death. Most of these occurred in people under 55 and the majority were women. Because these events are rare, and COVID-19 itself often causes blood clotting disorders in patients, it is difficult to estimate a background rate for these events in people who have not had the vaccine.

In a superb article by Denise Grady in the Independent, it suggests that the threat of developing a deadly blood clot post AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, could actually stem from a rare antibody reaction, which could offer confidence and peace of mind in the continued vital roll out of the vaccine.

Of course, by engaging with Matt Hancock the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Department of Health, RBR active™ believe that patients’ peace of mind in their treatment and on-going care will only be positively enhanced, knowing that they have with them a unique medical device that is proven to significantly reduce the threat of the user ever developing a deadly blood clot, and that the government are fulfilling on their 2019 manifesto promise on extending healthy life expectancy by 5 years by 2035.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE)

VTE is where a blood clot (called a thrombus) forms in a vein which can block off or reduce blood flow. The most common form is a blood clot in the deep veins of the legs known as a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The DVT can break off and travel to the arteries of the lung where it will cause a pulmonary embolism (PE). DVT and PE are known under the collective term of VTE.

However, if you get any of the following after receiving the COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca:

• Breathlessness
• pain in the chest or stomach
• Swelling or coldness in a leg
• Severe or worsening headache or blurred vision after vaccination
• Persistent bleeding
• multiple small bruises, reddish or purplish spots, or blood blisters under the skin

Please seek prompt medical assistance and mention your recent vaccination

Key facts:

• COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca is not associated with an increased overall risk of blood clotting disorders
• Because COVID-19 can be so serious and is so widespread, the benefits of the vaccine in preventing it outweigh the risks of side effects
• Figures suggest the risk of getting a rare blood clot is the equivalent to four people out of every million who receive the AstraZeneca vaccine
• The cost of thrombosis to the NHS is estimated at over £200 million a year
• Globally this is a cost to health service providers of more than £22 billion each year
• More than 60% of all cases of VTE are associated with hospitalisation, with many events occurring up to 90 days after admission
• VTE affects approximately one in 1000 of the UK population and is a significant cause of mortality, long-term disability and chronic ill-health problems
• In Europe, there are 544,000 VTE-related deaths every year
• In the U.S. and Europe, VTE-related events kill more people than AIDS, breast cancer, prostate cancer and motor vehicle crashes combined
• In the UK, up to 60% of VTE cases occur during or after hospitalisation, making it the leading    preventable cause of hospital death

For more information visit: www.rbrlegflow.com

Risk Factors for DVT

Older Age                                 Immobility                            Obesity

History                                     Pregnancy                               HRT

Surgery                                    Hospitalisation                        Oral Contraceptives

Long-Haul Travel                   Cancer                                      Trauma