Therefore, Cotswold, I am sad for the loss of your friend, but unless he had a particular blood clotting disorder, getting a clot one month after getting a vaccination is probably two independent and unrelated events.
TheDocMan, you may well be right that there isn't a connection but you do automatically look for a reason and think could it be this or that. I was not involved in the events at the time as I live 200 miles away. He was fairly fit, not overweight and no issues. But I know that is no warranty for the future.
One problem I have is if we can we be sure that the medical profession is being honest with us. They do have to sing the party line on Covid issues. I do know from people in the periphery of the NHS (National Health Service) where there is a collective and unexplainable preponderance of specific issues related to the jab that they have observed and are free to comment on. Additionally around 30% of NHS staff have refused the jab. At a consultation earlier this year the nurse asked if I'd been vaccinated, and I told her no. She then said that she had but wouldn't be having it again.
I don't know about the USA but in Britain there are now two versions of the vaccine that have been suspended, which were pumped into people with confidence and assurances only 18 months ago. We just don't know which is the best choice. We all know that unapproved flu and Covid vaccines have been used extensively since 2020.
In investments I will make my own decisions from my own investigations. That way someone else doesn't invest my money until it's all gone. I will tend to think that if it is your money you'll take more care of it than if it's someone else's money. Maybe I make less but I will take less risk. I'll follow the same theory with health matters.
Life is problems, and decisions need to be made. However it is my opinion that there are more people out there who will let you down, than will help you. When I was working there were only about 10% of the staff who were really good at their job. The rest varied from acceptable to useless. There will be tradesmen that you'll never use again, or garages that you'll not take your car to. I suspect it will be the same in the NHS. So you have to think, is the guy advising you in the 10% group, or is he in the also rans?
A doctor once said to me “if you ever have to go to ‘name of local hospital’ you need to be lucky with who you meet” Words of advice and the result of his experience and observations.