Intended for healthcare professionals

CCBY Open access

Rapid response to:

Research

Risk of thrombocytopenia and thromboembolism after covid-19 vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 positive testing: self-controlled case series study

BMJ 2021; 374 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1931 (Published 27 August 2021) Cite this as: BMJ 2021;374:n1931

Linked Editorial

Strengthening international surveillance of vaccine safety

Rapid Response:

Let us have candour rather than brand image - and from all pharmaceutical companies

Dear Editor

Shyan Goh writes [1]:

“ Astra Zeneca sure needed better media communication specialists, marketing experts and public relations strategists than what they have so far, considering the discrepancy in public concerns and brand damage in response to vaccine-related adverse events connected to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 when compared to those of “the other vaccine”.”

Unfortunately “communication specialists, marketing experts and public relations” is what we get from pharmaceutical companies. What the public and the medical profession should expect is not that they do more of it, or do it better, but candour.

[1] Shyan Goh, ‘ One swallow does not a summer make but perhaps fodder for AstraZeneca to improve their brand image’, 27 August 2021, https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1931/rr-1

Competing interests: AgeofAutism.com, an on-line daily journal, concerns itself with the potential environmental sources for the proliferation of autism, neurological impairment, immune dysfunction and chronic disease. I receive no payment as UK Editor. I also moderate comments for the on-line journal ‘The Defender’ for which I am paid. I am also a member of the UK Medical Freedom Alliance

31 August 2021
John Stone
UK Editor
AgeofAutism.com
London N22