There is no recommendation to test D-dimer in Covid vaccinees

There is no basis to suggest that those vaccinated against Covid-19 undergo the D-dimer test. This hypothesis is made by a woman in an audio that circulates on WhatsApp. As verified by the Comprova Project, experts warn that there is no such recommendation and that immunizing agents are safe.

The D-dimer test alone cannot diagnose thrombosis. It is commonly prescribed for people who already have this condition or to assess whether patients are responding well to anticoagulant treatments.

The audio mentions Pfizer’s immunizing agent, but this does not have the occurrence of thrombotic conditions as an adverse effect. In addition, it is not possible to relate a thrombosis to a vaccine without the case undergoing rigorous medical investigation and health authorities

This content was considered misleading by Comprova because it uses inaccurate data.

How do we check?

The verification of this content was carried out in two stages. Initially, the report investigated WhatsApp audio. In it, a woman claims that her husband would have been treated at the Hospital do Coração.

We contacted institutions with that name, in São Paulo and Goiânia, but the lack of audio data did not allow us to identify the case mentioned.

In the second stage of verification, the team investigated whether the D-dimer test enables the detection of thrombosis and whether it would be possible to associate any Covid-19 immunizing agent to the case described. Scientific studies were consulted and interviews with experts were carried out.

The report spoke with Guilherme Furtado, medical leader of Infectology at HCor and the professor of cardiology at the Faculty of Medicine of UFG (Federal University of Goiás), Aguinaldo Freitas Júnior.

The team also looked for Pfizer, since, in the audio, the pharmacist is mentioned, but there was no return.

Verification

The D-dimer examination

To know how the D-dimer test works, you need to understand a protein called fibrin. It is responsible for giving consistency to blood clots. Our bodies have a control system to produce fibrins when needed and also to break them down. The accumulation of clots can cause damage to the circulatory system such as stroke or thrombosis.

D-dimer detects the amount of broken fibrin in the blood. A high amount indirectly indicates that there is excessive clot formation, which suggests a thrombotic condition.

The woman claims in the audio that she took her husband to do the D-dimer test even though he had no symptoms. This practice is not common, according to the medical leader of Infectology at HCor, Guilherme Furtado. “The patient arrives at the emergency room with a suggestive clinical picture, such as pain in the leg or a swollen leg, and undergoes the D-dimer”, he explains. This is because many factors can cause certain fluctuations in the concentration of D-dimer, such as the use of certain medications or even the presence of a more serious infection, such as pneumonia.

The D-dimer test alone cannot confirm that a patient has thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, says Professor Aguinaldo Freitas Júnior. Post-surgery patients, the elderly and pregnant women may have increased D-dimer in the bloodstream. “A normal D-dimer rules out the diagnosis of pulmonary thromboembolism. An increased D-dimer does not confirm the diagnosis of pulmonary thromboembolism, because the result can be increased in several situations.”

case without context

Freitas says that there is no scientific proof of any relationship between the Pfizer vaccine and changes in this type of test. “And even if the vaccine caused the isolated increase in D-dimer, that doesn’t mean that this patient is at increased risk of pulmonary thromboembolism.” The doctor also emphasizes that there is no reason to resort to this test after taking the immunizing agent because changes in the result cannot be analyzed in isolation and can occur for several reasons.

As Comprova has already shown, cases of thrombosis and pulmonary embolism are not related to Pfizer’s vaccine. The package insert informs you that the most common reactions are pain and swelling at the injection site, tiredness, headache, diarrhea, muscle pain, joint pain, chills, fever. To a lesser degree (less than 1% of those immunized), it is also possible to experience an increase in lymph nodes, itching, hives, angioedema, decreased appetite, limb pain, insomnia, lethargy, excessive sweating, weakness, malaise and itching at the injection site. And in rare cases (in between 0.01% and 0.1% of people), it is possible to experience acute facial palsy.

The package insert has also been changed to include rare cases of inflammation of the heart muscle and tissue that lines the heart. They occurred mostly in young men, cured without consequences when medical attention was provided.

Rare cases of thrombosis have been seen in those immunized with Janssen and Astrazeneca vaccines. However, Furtado recalls that the Covid-19 infection itself causes severe inflammatory conditions and thrombosis. The risk of having a thrombotic condition is greater being infected by Covid-19 than being immunized against it, he says. “The vaccine is to prevent you from having a serious coronavirus infection and having thrombosis from it.”

A study published in August 2021 in the BMJ (British Medical Journal) showed that unvaccinated people infected with Covid-19 are 200 times more likely to have venous thrombosis than vaccinated people.

Old Rumors Combo

The woman who recorded the audio also reproduces a series of misleading and false claims about vaccines that have already been checked by Comprova. Contrary to what she claims, none of the currently available Covid-19 vaccines have graphene in their formula. This element is currently being tested in immunizers as a way to boost the immune response, not being used in current vaccines.

She also casts doubt on the safety profile of the immunizers by saying they would have aluminum in their composition, but her claim is unfounded. Aluminum has been used in vaccines for decades in amounts that are safe for your health. He never represented a risk to the inoculated, explains the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), of the United States.

The responsible for the audio reproduces the unfounded hypothesis that the omicron variant would have been invented to disguise serious adverse events of the vaccines. As shown by Comprova, the new strain of the coronavirus has already been identified in at least 77 countries. Preliminary data suggest that it causes milder symptoms than seen with previous variants, which belies the widespread claim to discourage immunization.

The woman even reproduces the claim that coronavirus infection provides protection 7 times stronger than vaccines. This number emerged on social networks from the decontextualization of data on Covid-19 cases in Israel. To Comprova, the Israeli Ministry of Health denied that its data allow reaching this conclusion.

Why do we investigate?

In its fourth phase, Comprova investigates suspicious content that has gone viral about the pandemic, public policies and elections. As this information is published on different platforms —WhatsApp, Telegram and Twitter—, it is difficult to specify the real scope of the post, especially in the messaging application. On WhatsApp, the audio was tagged by the social network with a “frequently shared” warning.

Misleading information about the pandemic, its new strains and vaccination discredits the effectiveness of immunizers already confirmed by scientific organizations. Therefore, given the increased transmissibility of the omicron variant, rumors that discredit any immunizing agent are dangerous.

In previous checks, Comprova has shown that it is false that the micron is an invention to mask vaccine reactions and that mutations in Covid-19 do not rule out vaccine efficacy and safety.

Misleading, for Comprova, is content taken from the original context and used in another so that its meaning changes; that it uses inaccurate data or that it induces an interpretation different from its author’s intention; content that confuses, with or without the deliberate intent to cause harm.

Comprova performed this verification based on information available on the 17th from December from 2021.