Dear Editor,
Please permit me to make a point with regard to the issue of persons developing complications following COVID-19 vaccination. I wonder if the manner in which the vaccine is being administered may be a factor? Editor, I have been fully vaccinated, and in each case, the person administering the shot inserted the hypodermic needle into the muscle of the upper arm and injected the contents of the syringe; there was no aspiration. In other words, when the needle was inserted, the plunger of the syringe was not pulled back before being pushed forward and delivering the jab. Let me explain, when the needle is inserted, the bevelled tip stops at some point inside the body; it may end up in muscle tissue — as the vaccine manufacturer intended — or the tip of the needle could, possibly puncture and stop within a blood vessel. If that happens, when the plunger of the syringe is pushed down, part or all of the contents of the syringe could be administered intravenously or intra-arterially — that is not what the manufacturers intended. Editor, I have done some research into this scenario. To date, some 3.9 billion persons have received at least one dose of a vaccine, but a handful of persons have had complications including blood clots (accompanied by a low platelet count), myocarditis, pericarditis (heart inflammation) as well as a few other issues. Such issues, though infrequent, have contributed to vaccine hesitancy and fuelled unfounded fears and conspiracy theories. As such, those matters are worth the attention of those in authority.
It is my understanding that if †he needle punctures a blood vessel damaging the wall, the body’s clotting mechanisms would be activated. Could it be that the subsequent delivery of vaccine material into that spot could trigger an anti-platelet immune response accompanied by a clotting cascade? Further, it is my belief, based on research that complications appear to be more frequent with vaccines that have a higher number of active particles in the dose. Editor, I do not wish for my point to become overly technical; I would, though, appreciate the consideration of the matter by the medical community since my research shows that some 12 per cent of injections into the upper arm are inadvertently intravenous, and less frequently intra-arterial. The problem of avoiding delivering the medicine into a blood vessel is easy to solve; the person giving the vaccine should aspirate. That is, after the needle is inserted, the plunger should be pulled backward for a few seconds. If the tip of the needle is inside an artery, bright-red blood will appear inside the syringe; if the tip is inside a vein, dark blood will be seen. In either case, the needle could be repositioned. Since the tip of the needle should be in muscle tissue when the shot is given, aspiration should produce no blood in the syringe. Once this is ascertained, the vaccine could be safely delivered into the muscle.
In conclusion, while the medical people may wish to consider the issue I raised, I encourage all Guyanese to be vaccinated and observe all other mitigation protocols.
Sincerely,
Mark DaCosta
