The issue of vaccines and stroke risk has once again surfaced. Specifically, when it comes to getting both the Covid vaccine and the Flu vaccine simultaneously.
Before everyone starts freaking out, it is once again important to know the facts and keep things in perspective.
What is a stroke? In a nutshell, it’s when brain tissue is injured leading to all kinds of neurological problems. Numbness, weakness, speech or swallowing difficulties, blindness… The vast majority of strokes are ischemic (>90%), meaning that something blocks blood from flowing to brain tissue, leading to cell death. A “mini stroke”, technically called a TIA, or transient ischaemic attack, is when the decreased blood flow is temporary enough that it does not cause permanent damage, meaning that the symptoms resolve within 24 hours. Ischaemic strokes are almost always caused by blood clots, but sometimes are caused by arterial spasm. A hemorrhagic stroke is when there is bleeding in the brain leading to swelling and brain cell damage. The biggest risk factor for this is elevated blood pressure and taking blood thinners. This includes taking Aspirin unnecessarily or even antiinflammatories like Motrin, which affect the liver, where many blood clotting factors are produced.
Most clots come from somewhere else and spread through the vasculature until the arteries are too small to let them pass and they block off the artery. When blood clots spread to the lungs, that is called a pulmonary embolism (PE), which often is created in the calf and then shoots up through the heart and into the lung leading to lung damage. With the arrhythmia atrial fibrillation (A Fib), when the heart does not pump blood well, clots form and most often shoot up into the brain, which is why those with A Fib take blood thinners. In the heart, plaques, which take years to form, become inflamed, leading to clotting, resulting in a heart attack as heart muscle dies off.
Just to be clear, the risks of a clot forming, leading to a stroke, PE, heart attack, liver damage, pancreas damage… is dramatically higher in those who get Covid as compared with those who get vaccinated or boosted.
As far as recent studies are concerned, there was a miniscule increase in the risk of having a stroke after getting the Covid vaccine at the same time as the flu shot. This was seen in those over 85 years of age, and the risk was 0.003%! In other words, 3 for every 1000,000 shots. In the population over 65, the risk was 0.001%. (1 in 100,000)
In comparison, one study of Covid infected people showed that they had a 52% increased risk of a stroke in the first year after having had Covid. By the way, there is also a significant stroke risk after getting the flu as well. This is partly from lack of mobility leading to blood clots in the legs (I know someone very young who died that way in college) but mostly from a slight increase in coagulation which can occur after any illness.
In the general population, independent of Covid status or vaccination, strokes are pretty common. Stroke is the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular disease, not only in the US, but globally. The older you are, the more likely you are to have a stroke. The chance of having a stroke doubles every 10 years after age 55. Although stroke is common among older adults, many people younger than 65 years also have strokes with 15% of strokes in the US occurring in adolescents and young adults ages 15 to 49. This all has to do with more young people having obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Going back to one of my favorite topics, risk mitigation, your biggest risk for having a stroke is simply being unhealthy and/or older. If you get Covid, your stroke risk is significantly increased, to a dramatically greater degree than if you get vaccinated against it.
The stroke fear is really a non-issue.
Please get vaccinated. I think it is fine for most people to get both the Covid and Flu vaccine simultaneously. I just got both earlier this week, in the same shoulder, and other than a mild headache and minimal fatigue, both lasting only a day, I was fine. Even shoulder soreness was not too bad this time around.
If you want to be a little extra safe, split them up by a week or two, but please don’t delay. Getting sick is no fun, can lead to long term complications and any risk attributed to the vaccines is dramatically greater and worse if you actually get sick. The vaccines also reduce the severity of the illness if you are unfortunate enough to still get sick. And this is important because all the risks of the illnesses increase with the severity.
To reduce your risks even more, be mindful of crowded areas, especially if someone is coughing or sneezing, and consider judicial, practical masking.
Keep working on your health as well. Your best defense is a healthy body. And it all starts with diet. Studies show that those eating a healthy, whole food vegan diet have the lowest risk of infection or severity of infection. As a bonus, vegan diets don’t contribute to animal suffering and reduce your climate change impact.
Have a great weekend.
Stay safe and be well.
AC
