'Substantially higher' risk of stroke from Covid-19 than from AstraZeneca vaccine - expert

A vial of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. File Picture

There is a “substantially higher” risk of suffering a stroke through Covid than from taking the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to an expert on strokes.

Clinical Lead of the Irish national audit of stroke, Professor Joe Harbison told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that “one to two percent” of people hospitalised with Covid-19 during the first wave of the pandemic suffered stroke.

“We're also seeing more large vessel strokes occurring in young people with Covid," he said. 

"It's one of these hidden complications of Covid that really hasn't been much publicised.” 

Prof Harbison said the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine was "clearly safe” with “less than a one in a million chance of developing a problem” as a result of it. 

“The reason they are concerned is this type of clot is a reasonably uncommon clot and that's occurring in the brain and it can occasionally result in stroke," he said.

Prof Harbison said it "has to be emphasised" that the risk of stroke from catching Covid-19 is substantially higher than the risk of developing any problem with the vaccine.

“About one to two percent of people who are hospitalised with Covid, we're now discovering are suffering stroke and we're also seeing more large vessel strokes occurring in young people with Covid.

"When we were doing the recent NOCA (National Office of Clinical Audit) report, looking at the experience of stroke services during the pandemic - it hasn’t been published yet, but we found that there were about 30 cases of stroke in Ireland during the first wave associated with Covid.” 

This, he said, effectively meant there had been more cases of stroke in Ireland in the first wave associated with Covid, than all the cases on the planet associated with the vaccine.

Prof Harbison said he would argue that the risk of developing cerebral sinus thrombosis was probably higher with something like the Oral Contraceptive Pill than it would be with the vaccine. 

He said if the AstraZeneca vaccine was offered to his family, we would advise them to take it.

"It's much better to get the vaccine to be safe than risk Covid which can give you much more unpleasant side effects,” he added.