Pakistan has added up 20 more Covid-19 infections with no fatality during the last 24 hours (Thursday), showed the data released by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Friday morning. According to the NIH data, the death toll in the country remained the same at 30,656 whereas the number of total infections now soared to 1,580,542 after adding the fresh 20 cases. During the last 24 hours (Thursday), 3,377 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 0.59%. The number of patients in critical care stood at 14. Psychologist died of rare blood syndrome linked to AstraZeneca’s vaccine

A 32-year-old psychologist in Britain developed blood clots and died 10 days after he took his first dose of AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine, a report released by a London coroner found, in a highly rare case of a fatal reaction to the vaccine. The inquest, which was requested by Charlotte Wright, the widow of Dr Stephen Wright, found that he died on Jan 26, 2021, as a result of “unintended consequences of vaccination.” Ms Wright is suing AstraZeneca.

According to the report, Dr Wright, of Kent, England, had a stroke and bleeding in the brain, as well as vaccine-induced thrombosis, or blood clots, and thrombocytopenia, a condition that occurs when the platelet level in the blood is abnormally low. Since 2021, researchers have cited rare cases in which people have developed the blood-clotting syndrome known as TTS after receiving the Johnson & Johnson or AstraZeneca Covid vaccines, which are similar. The cases typically occur within weeks of vaccination.

Experts still strongly recommend vaccination, saying that although vaccines are associated with certain rare side-effects, those risks are dwarfed by the risks of the coronavirus itself. “It’s really quite rare and, at the end of the day, you need to consider the risks versus the benefits with anything you do,” said Daniel Salmon, director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “And when you look at the vaccines, they’re very safe and very effective.” He added: “Nothing is risk-free. And if you choose not to get the vaccine, then you’re at greater risk for getting the disease and serious consequences.”

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP