The United Kingdom has described the first cases of large vessel arterial occlusion strokes tied to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

The three cases, one fatal, were reported in two women and a man in their 30s or 40s, who had blockages of the carotid and middle cerebral artery. Two of these three patients also developed venous thrombosis of the portal and cerebral venous system. All these patients had extremely low platelet levels, confirmed antibodies to platelet factor 4, and elevated D-dimer levels. All of these were characteristic of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) reaction associated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The cases have been described in a letter published online in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry… (Medscape)