Blood-clot fears and flights rumors

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce previously raised hackles with his suggestions that proof of vaccination against COVID-19 could become a requirement for international travel. But new claims spreading online suggest it may actually be those who are vaccinated who will be barred from flying.

“I heard from someone who has contacts inside the [unnamed] airline and they are now discussing that the injected should not be allowed to fly,” one Facebook post reads.

“Because the injection creates clots and bleeding and that is life threatening — when it happens at several thousand meters altitude. So the airlines do not want to risk being sued and have deaths on board. ” Both Qantas and Virgin Australia confirmed that no such bans were being considered.

In an email, a spokeswoman for Qantas said the airline had “never said anything about not allowing vaccinated travellers onboard”. A spokesman for Virgin Australia said that the airline would “continue to consider relevant government and health advice around vaccination”, making “any decisions in line with passenger and crew health and safety”.

Meanwhile, Allen Cheng, director of the Infection Prevention and Healthcare Epidemiology unit at Alfred Health in Melbourne, told that banning those people vaccinated against COVID-19 because of clotting risks “wouldn’t make much sense”.

According to Professor Cheng there are two types of clotting syndromes — “common” clots such as deep vein thrombosis and thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS). Common clots, he explained, are associated with long periods of not moving, such as post-surgery hospitalisation and prolonged air travel.

TTS, on the other hand, is much less common and associated with specific medications, including the AstraZeneca vaccine. According to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, TTS may occur four to 20 days after vaccination.

“TTS is generally severe, tends to involve different locations in the body and occurs in the absence of recent air travel,” Professor Cheng said. So AstraZeneca vaccination isn’t thought to be a risk for common clots.”