Forgot to ask this within my The Atlantic clueless column on the "clotting mystery": if these clotting incidents are from such incredibly rare disorders that have killed, what, a few people thus far, perhaps a rate even lower than flu vaccines, why the great concern and headlines like this?

Blood Clotting Needs to Be Watched with All COVID Vaccines, States the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) - April 5, 2021

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases....

All three vaccines cause human cells to manufacture the spike protein, which then induces the immune system to make antibodies to that protein. If the person is then exposed to the virus, the immune system will recognize the threat and mount a defense that should at least minimize symptoms, AAPS explains.

The spike protein is just a fragment of a virus, so itor the mRNA that codes for itcannot cause an infection. However, there are questions about whether the spike protein itself can cause harm as it binds to tissue receptors, AAPS points out. Physicians and scientists have asked the EMA about the possibility of blood clots due to the binding of the viral spike protein to platelets. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not responded to concerns that mRNA products, through spike proteins, have "the potential to cause microvascular injury [inflammation and small blood clots called microthrombi] to the brain, heart, liver and kidneys in ways that were not assessed in the safety trials."