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A review of the vaccine’s safety data revealed that blood clots were more common in women under 55.
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Getting a COVID-19 vaccine will not increase your risk of blood clots.
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But the birth control pill, pregnancy and obesity can lead to a higher pre-existing risk.
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After a preliminary review of data on the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) concluded last week that the injection was not associated with an increased risk of blood clots.
The number of clots reported after vaccination was actually less than expected in the general population, the EMA said at a news conference on Thursday.
But a subset of the vaccinated population had more blood clots than normal: women under 55.
Young women are at an increased risk of developing certain types of blood clots, regardless of their vaccine status, Mary Cushman, professor of medicine at the University of Vermont’s Larner School of Medicine, told Insider. Hormonal birth control and pregnancy can play a role in this high risk.
Sabine Straus, head of the EMA safety committee, said in Thursday’s briefing that an increased risk of clotting due to birth control pills is “always a different possibility”, and the EMA may investigate it in the near future.
Birth control pills and pregnancy increase the risk of blood clots
Young women have a relatively high risk of blood clots, as they are more likely to take birth control pills or become pregnant, which increases the chances of developing a clot, Cushman told Insider.
In fact, the risk of a blood clot as a side effect of the pill is much greater than the probability of clotting due to the vaccine. Scientists have known about this risk factor for decades and recently appeared in a TikTok video.
“Millions of women everywhere take the birth control pill, and among the hundreds of side effects that come with the birth control pill – one of which is death – there are 6 in 10,000 chances of getting a blood clot,” said TikToker alysselizabeth no video.
The US Food and Drug Administration estimates that between 3 and 9 in 10,000 women taking certain birth control pills will develop a blood clot each year, compared with 1 to 5 women in 10,000 who have no risk factors for blood clots.
Estrogen, a sex hormone that is found in most oral contraceptives and increases during pregnancy, is one of the reasons for this high risk, Anna Medaris Miller of Insider previously reported. The hormone also affected the way immune cells respond to flu vaccines.
There are other risk factors for blood clots – including COVID-19
Obesity and genetic factors can also increase the risk of someone developing a blood clot, said Cushman. Physical activity and other healthy lifestyle options can help control this risk.
“It is always very important to stay active, avoid sedentary time, maintain a healthy weight and have a healthy diet,” said Cushman. “And if you are using an oral contraceptive, or if you are obese, you may just raise awareness a little, but don’t avoid the injection.”
She added that COVID-19 has also been linked to deadly blood clots – so vaccination will help prevent clots from forming, reducing the chance of getting sick from the coronavirus.
“The bottom line is that the risk of adverse health consequences for COVID-19 far outweighs any risk of the injection,” said Cushman.
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