GP Stories - The Covid Vaccine Headache

Headaches are a common symptom in GP land. They ironically can be a bit of a headache for a GP to manage. There are a number serious headaches that need proper attention and during this remote consulting era, it takes a lot of clinical confidence to manage them over the phone only. 

GPs round the country on the whole have been involved with the largely successful covid-19 vaccination program. At the time of writing 5% of the population of England have had 2 doses of the vaccine, with over 28 million getting at least the first. Comparing that to the EU, we've done very well. The cynic in me therefore feels that the news of deep vein thrombosis'( DVTs) and cerebral thrombosis after the vaccine (from the EU bloc) is an entirely political move.

Several countries, including France, Germany and Italy, suspended use of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of DVTs and low platelets. The European Medicines Agency have come out saying that there is no indication that the vaccine is causing blood clots. The WHO are encouraging countries to use the vaccine. But still counties around the world have decided to suspend it's use.

A quick look at the statistics below show that risk of these blood clots is actually less than what would be found in the population anyway. Its not to say that the vaccine can prevent blood clots but there does seem to be increased cases of DVTs in patient's who have contracted covid-19, so in that sense, there will be some protection against DVTs. 

The two major headaches that have been created by this media furore however has been a) patient's now worried about having the vaccine and b) patient's with headaches after the vaccine. Uptake amongst the low socioeconomic classes and BAME community is already low, and this news definitely won't help people sign up. The media informed the public that anyone with a headache lasting 4 days after a covid-19 vaccine should get assessed by a GP as it could mean a cerebral sinus vein thrombosis (CSVT). No doubt every doctor in my practice (and probably around the country) had a phone call regarding headaches on this coming out. No guidance was given from the higher ups regarding need for scanning or referral into hospital, given that CSVT can literally have no other symptoms or signs other than the headache. I can think there was a lot of people sent to hospital for (needless) scans when this news broke.

From the dailymail.com

I leave with the photo above, I found it interesting that you are more likely to be killed by a meteor than develop one of these cerebral blood clots. If I had known this stat at the time, I wonder if any of the patients I talked to would have been more reassured....The pedestrian accident one is not reassuring though, definitely could turn some people agoraphobic with those good odds...