What is immune thrombocytopenia, the disorder detected in some people vaccinated against COVID-19

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, which continues to destroy the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world, vaccination plans continue to raise expectations. However, when it comes to vaccination, real doubts have also arisen due to some reported cases of death or strange ailments after its application. Some people, a few days after the first dose of the vaccine, had serious health problems ranging from bruises on their arms and legs, as well as mouth ulcers. Something that specialists began to describe as immune thrombocytopenia.

But what is it all about? It’s a bleeding disorder of the immune system that destroys platelets, which are necessary for normal blood clotting. People with the disease have very few platelets in their blood. It can be caused when certain cells produce antiplatelet antibodies. Platelets help the blood to clot by clumping together to plug tiny holes in damaged blood vessels. The antibodies bind to the platelets and the body destroys the platelets that carry the antibodies.

In children, the disease sometimes occurs after a viral infection. In the In adults, it is most often a long-term chronic illness and can occur after a viral infection, with the use of certain medications, during pregnancy or as part of an immune disorder. It affects more women than men, although it is more common in children than in adults..

It is not known if this blood irregularity is linked to COVID-19 vaccines. After more than 30 cases became known in the United States, authorities from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they were analyzing the reports but, so far, it seemed that the frequency of this disorder in vaccinated people was not higher than the frequency that normally occurs in the North American population, so maybe it could be a coincidence. Vaccines are generally considered safe. Serious allergic reactions have been reported but are receiving treatment and, according to regulators, the percentage is consistent with that reported for other vaccines.

James Bussel, hematologist and professor emeritus at Weill Cornell Medical Center says: “I think there may be a relationship, given the very low percentage of vaccinees with thrombocytopenia, I guess there is something that made them prone to developing it.“, he claimed. And he also added:” What happens after vaccination is well known and has been observed with many vaccines. When it happens, we do not know the cause “.

On the other hand, the specialist said it was important to share information about the cases, because severe thrombocytopenia can be serious and doctors should know how to treat it. In some cases, the condition is resistant to the treatments indicated and if the low platelet count persists the patient is at risk of excessive bleeding and even cerebral hemorrhage..

On a related note, Johns Hopkins University blood disorder physician Jerry Spivak also said the link to the vaccine appeared real, but predicted cases would be extremely rare, calling them ” idiosyncratic “and possibly related to some underlying characteristics of each patient. . Doctors say these cases are not a reason not to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The risk of this disease getting worse is far greater than the risk of developing this rare disease and vaccines are essential in controlling the pandemic.

However, a group of patient containment, in its most common form, indicates that immune thrombocytopenia is an autoimmune disease that affects approximately 50,000 people in the United States. This condition develops when, for unknown reasons, the immune system attacks platelets or the cells that produce them. It sometimes occurs after a viral illness and can last for months or even become chronic and last for several years. He usually has treatment. Some professional groups have recommended that patients with this disease be vaccinated against COVID-19 after consulting the hematologist.

From the various laboratories that supply the vaccine to the United States, they have given the corresponding explanations. Pfizer BioNtech said in a statement that it takes “reports of side effects very seriously” and added that it is aware of cases of thrombocytopenia in people who have received the vaccines.. He also noted that the company collects “relevant information to share with the FDA. However, at this time, we have not been able to establish a causal relationship with our vaccine. ” Since Moderna, released a statement that did not address the issue of platelet disorders, but mentioned that the company “is constantly monitoring the safety of its COVID-19 vaccine through the use of all sources of information” and that it systematically shares safety information with regulators. This disorder has rarely occurred in people who have received other vaccines, especially measles, rubella and mumps.

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