Medical Case Reports

A major new study has shed light on one of the most puzzling vaccine-related complications identified during the COVID-19 pandemic: vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT). This rare condition, linked primarily to adenovirus-based COVID-19 vaccines such as Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, involves unusual blood clotting combined with low platelet counts. For years, scientists have debated what triggered VITT and why it appeared in only a tiny fraction of people. New research now provides the clearest explanation yet — and suggests that both immune biology and genetics play a role. When VITT cases first emerged in 2021, researchers noticed that affected patients developed antibodies against platelet factor 4 (PF4), a molecule involved in blood clotting. What remained unclear was why the immune system would suddenly target PF4 after vaccination. The new study points strongly to the adenovirus vector itself as the initial trigger. Researchers found that in peopl...

Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee met yesterday  (1/26/2023), to continue investigating preliminary data indicating a possible stroke risk following simultaneous administration of the Pfizer Covid booster and the flu vaccine. FDA is launching a study to look into this possibility. Two weeks ago , we reviewed some of the VAERS reports in the 65+ age group. Multiple case reports describing stroke after COVID-19 vaccination have been published in medical literature. Some had unusual presentations.  A 43‐year‐old male patient with uneventful medical history was admitted 23 days after receiving a first dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV‐19 vaccine. Symptoms of headache, falls, and unsteadiness began 7 days after vaccination. At admission, he presented with reduced vigilance, multiple blue, or purple bruises in all extremities and left‐sided hemiparesis. The bruises had the typical clinical characteristics of hematomas after subcutaneous bleeding and were painful, ...

In early January 2023, it become known that the CDC's near real-time surveillance system (the Vaccine Safety Datalink containing health records of more than 12 million Americans) detected a possible increase in ischemic stroke in people 65 and older who recently got one of Pfizer’s ( BioNTech)  updated  booster shots.  It found that 130 seniors had the stroke within 21 days of the shot ( compared with days 22-44 following vaccination ).  This 'met the statistical criteria to prompt additional investigation', the CDC statement said.  CDC officials used an alternative methodology to conduct a different analysis in the VSD database but could not replicate the finding.  They also checked the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services system, containing 83.9 million individuals, and the Veterans Affairs database, with nine million people. Neither dataset indicated an increased risk of ischemic stroke following a bivalent vaccine.  A large study of updated (...

A six-and-a-half-year-old fully vaccinated and previously healthy Asian boy presented to the accident and emergency department with 5-day history of high-grade fever associated with non-projectile vomiting, loose stools, abdominal pain, generalized rashes and conjunctivitis without discharge, reduced oral intake and urine frequency. However, he had no history of cough, joint or limb pain, sore throat or rhinorrhea. He was treated for a suspected bacterial infection with co-amoxiclav and paracetamol then cefixime, ibuprofen and desloratadine. As the illness progressed , he became extremely weak associated with headache and on the day of presentation at the hospital he was irritable, had lost speech with mouth deviation towards the left side. He had no reported convulsions, visual disturbance, difficulty swallowing, drooling, difficulty breathing or incontinence. A week prior to his illness, he was exposed to a relative suffering from COVID-19.  A brain MRI revealed acute ischemic in...

75-year old man who thought to be the longest-serving inmate in solitary confinement, having survived 43 years in a 6ft x 9ft cell in one of America's most brutal prisons, has died aged 75 from complications caused by Covid-19.   He was released in 2016 on his 69th birthday and went on with his life, wrote a remarkable memoir, won an American book award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer price.  Early July 2022, despite being vaccinated and boosted, he contracted COVID-19. He got better, but started to experience shortness of breath in the end of July and was taken to the hospital. He got fluid in his lungs. It cleared up with medicine, but that aggravated his heart. Once his heart seemed better, his kidney function dwindled. Scans showed that he had developed blood clots and had begun suffering strokes.  Doctors thought he would pull through, but he was intubated and never regained consciousness. REFERENCES https://lailluminator.com/2022/08/04/albert-woodfox-angola-3-...

A 67-year-old fully vaccinated and boosted man with Down syndrome (DS) died early February 2022 after he contracted COVID-19. The man spent 12 says in the hospital  and an intensive care unit due to his underlying health  conditions but was brought home and was cared by his family for the last 6 days preceding his death. The  man suffered a stroke 17 years ago.  Individuals with Down syndrome are presumed to be at high risk of severe CoVID-19, due to immune dysregulation and often compromised cardiopulmonary function. DS is caused by the presence of full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21 ( HSA21 ). REFERENCES The Austin American-Statesman, the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/12/21/donor-pays-off-loan-statesman-season-caring-austin-palliative-care-family/8962545002/ https://www.statesman.com/in-depth/news/2021/11/24/austins-judy-silva-brother-down-syndrome-season-for-caring/625450800...

A 103-year-old woman was erroneously given a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by a mobile vaccination team, soon after her 3rd shot.  The woman, a nursing home resident, was admitted to a hospital on Dec 16 - three days after receiving the extra dose.  She had pneumonia and low sodium levels and was subsequently diagnosed as having had a stroke. She died on Jan. 10th, 2022. ------------------ An 88-year-old male, survivor of COVID-19, was given 3rd dose of Moderna Covid Vaccine in error, shortly after the 2nd dose (1st dose was administered 2 months after his COVID-19 infection).  Next morning he was noted to act strange and was found unresponsive less than 2hrs after.  He was hospitalized and intubated. A few days later the family made the decision to remove him from the ventilator. He died on March 16, 2021 ------------------ A 93-year-old male fell ill on the day of his vaccination, 3rd dose of Pfizer vaccine. He  died 2 days later. Cause of death:  ...