In a personal letter verified by Rolling Stone, English guitar legend Eric Clapton said his COVID-19 vaccination hampered his ability to play the instrument, leading him to worry he'd never recover the skill. He blamed vaccine "propaganda" for overstating the inoculations' safety.

Writing to his friend Robin Monotti Graziadei, an Italian movie producer and architect, Clapton outlined his recent experience receiving two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine several weeks apart, encountering adverse side effects each time. After the second dose, the musician, who already suffers from neuropathy, said he endured sensations in his extremities that had him fearing the worst.

"I took the first jab of AZ and straight away had severe reactions which lasted 10 days," Clapton relayed. "I recovered eventually and was told it would be 12 weeks before the second one…"

He continued, "About six weeks later I was offered and took the second AZ shot, but with a little more knowledge of the dangers. Needless to say the reactions were disastrous, my hands and feet were either frozen, numb or burning, and pretty much useless for two weeks, I feared I would never play again, (I suffer with peripheral neuropathy and should never have gone near the needle.) But the propaganda said the vaccine was safe for everyone…"

According to the NHS, the vaccines approved for use in the U.K. have met "strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness set out by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Any COVID-19 vaccine that is approved must go through all the clinical trials and safety checks all other licensed medicines go through. The MHRA follows international standards of safety."

Still, as shown in recent reports from Reuters and Forbes, the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine is indeed recommended for 12 weeks after the first, instead of six as Clapton received. Some countries are delaying the follow-up AstraZeneca dose as much as up to 16 weeks after.

Last year, Clapton joined fellow rock veteran Van Morrison on a song that opposed COVID-related lockdowns called "Stand and Deliver."

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