Cardiff scientists uncover mechanism that leads to rare blood clots after AstraZeneca vaccine, UK Covid Vaccine Research Hub

A team of scientists from Cardiff University and the US have identified the biological mechanism that causes extremely rare blood clots following a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The research, published in the journal Science Advances, used a technique called cryo-electron microscopy to capture images of the adenovirus in molecular detail, in a bid to understand what was causing the clots. Concerns about the rare blood clots have influenced policy decisions about how the vaccine should be used, and led to restrictions on its use in the UK for people under 40. The Cardiff team were given emergency government funding to investigate the cause, and AstraZeneca ' s own scientists were also involved in the study. The research team discovered that people who developed clots after being vaccinated produced unusual antibodies that were attacking a protein that occurs naturally in our blood.
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news