Danish Medicines Agency sends out updated letter to people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine within the last 14 days

15 March 2021

Today, the Danish Medicines Agency has sent out an updated letter to people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine within the last 14 days. The purpose is to increase awareness on the symptoms that people should react to.

If you have been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine within the last 14 days and you experience signs of skin or mucosal bleeding, you should see a doctor. This could for example be easy bruising – except for at the injection site, which is normal – or small red spots on the skin or bleeding that does not stop as normal.

This information supplements the letter on general signs of blood clots sent out by the Danish Medicines Agency last week to people who had been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine within the last 14 days. See more about this at the bottom of the page.

The Danish Medicines Agency together with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the other drug regulatory authorities in the EU are investigating the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports in Europe of very rare, but serious cases involving people who at the same time had experienced low platelet counts in the blood, bleeding and blood clots after they received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

At present, there is no evidence to conclude that these incidents are linked to the vaccine. 

Have you received the vaccine in the last 14 days? This is what you should do

In Denmark, the Danish Health Authority has put the vaccinations on hold as a precautionary measure while the investigations are ongoing.

If you have been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine within the last 14 days, you should be observant.

It is normal to experience pain and redness at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain, chills and fever after vaccination. When a vaccine activates the immune system, many will get influenza-like symptoms. This is completely normal and a sign that the body’s immune system is reacting to the vaccine. These reactions occur with most vaccine types, and they usually pass within a couple of days. A bruise at the vaccine injection site is also to be expected.

However, you should react to other symptoms suggestive of blood clots.

A low platelet count may affect the blood's ability to clot. If, as mentioned, you experience signs of skin or mucosal bleeding in the form of easy bruising, small red spots on the skin, or bleeding that does not stop as normal, then it is important to consult a doctor.

In addition, there could be other different symptoms of blood clots depending on the location of the blood clot in the body. This could be

  • severe headache
  • severe stomach ache
  • a leg that turns cold
  • sudden and unexpected pain in parts of the body
  • breathing difficulty
  • paralysis of the one side of the body

However, there could be other symptoms of blood clots. And for that reason, it is important to be observant if you have been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine within the last 14 days. You should see a doctor if:

  • you experience long-term symptoms after vaccination (i.e. lasting for longer than the normal 3 days after vaccination);
  • you experience symptoms that are getting worse;
  • you experience having new symptoms after the disappearance of the well-known transient symptoms that many experience in the first days after vaccination.

Read the updated letter: Updated information from the Danish Medicines Agency on your COVID-19 vaccination (pdf)