Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura Following Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine in an Elderly Female

Mass vaccination campaigns are being run all over the globe to combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. There have been several reports of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) occurrence following COVID-19 vaccination. However, ITP due to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been rarely reported, and a causal link has not been identified. The pathophysiology behind immune thrombocytopenia is similar to heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. The management is also similar to other secondary immune thrombocytopenia. We present a case of a 67-year old female diagnosed with immune thrombocytopenia following Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination. The treatment was resistant to high-dose steroids, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and rituximab and eventually responded to a thrombopoietin-stimulating agent.