A viewer asks: “Are the vaccines causing clots? The spike protein in particular which, contrary to expectations, appears NOT to stay localized to the injection site, seems to be entering the bloodstream of many people. This protein can reportedly connect with cell receptors of cells lining blood veins and arteries. The spike protein is said to “activate” blood platelets and trigger the clotting response. Is there an increased risk of blood clots for those who have been vaccinated, and if so, for how long will they be at risk?”

There is an increased risk of blood clots forming for some individuals who have been vaccinated. This is a small risk from a percentage point of view, but always the one who has the rare problem may suffer greatly. This is an inherent liability of the vaccine approach that it does allow production within the body of the spike protein for a time and then people will be subjected to the onslaught. This primes the immune system to amplify a response for the future, which is the intended consequence enabling use as a vaccination strategy. But at the same time, by producing this noxious material the vaccine, in a sense, mimics an aspect of the illness itself and thus can harm the body. We would say that the benefits still outweigh the risks if you think about the fact that only certain individuals have a perceptible symptomatic response traceable to blood clot formation. You can be sure that in the event of an acute infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, they would likely have a huge problem on their hands because the viral load of spike protein would be enormous. Those are the very individuals who would likely succumb, certainly needing hospitalization, and it would be nip and talk treating their condition and keeping them going. The length of time during which the vaccine will be causing production of spike protein is highly variable, but largely subsides within a few weeks at most. So if one wants to take extreme precautions, one could use that as a window of vulnerability and avoid putting themselves in situations where it would be difficult to seek timely medical attention in the event of developing symptoms. Flight is a theoretical but very small additional risk for such individuals, but this is no different than the many who board flights and then have a stroke or a heart attack while on board and their breathing is compromised and are at risk of a worsening situation and, of course, are trapped in the air, so the time needed to get them to a hospital will be lengthened.