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In recent days, cans of this batch with around 250,000 ampoules have been distributed throughout Italy. Two soldiers and a policeman died in Sicily a few hours after being vaccinated with batch ABV 2856, Rome. The Sicilian judiciary launched an investigation and informed the AIFA authorities. The fatalities are a 43-year-old military man who died of cardiac arrest a few hours after being vaccinated. Family members reported that he was healthy before vaccination. A 50-year-old police officer from Catania who died 12 days after vaccination is also being investigated. He too had been injected with a dose of the affected batch. The third death after the AstraZeneca vaccine is a member of the Sicilian army who is said to have developed a thrombosis after vaccination.
Investigations have also been launched into the death of a school employee in the Naples area who was immunized on Monday. Last week, a 62-year-old teacher in Naples died after being vaccinated.
The Ministry of Health sent inspectors to Sicily to verify that vaccination procedures had been followed. The Supreme Institute of Health examines the contents of the vials of the suspicious batch.
The telephones of the health authorities were on. Many military personnel and teachers who are to be immunized with AstraZeneca expressed concern. Health authorities fear that many vaccines could be canceled. In Italy, six million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
The deaths put pressure on the government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, which recently announced an acceleration of the vaccination campaign. Draghi spoke with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen by phone on Thursday afternoon about the latest developments. On Friday, the prime minister visits a vaccination center at the Roman airport in Fiumicino.
In view of the increasing number of infections, the Italian government wants to toughen anti-Covid requirements on Friday. Starting next Monday, 16 of the 20 Italian regions could turn red. So freedom of movement is severely restricted, bars and shops are closed with the exception of supermarkets and pharmacies. Sardinia, Sicily, Calabria and Umbria could get rid of the strict measures. The Lazio region with the capital Rome should be orange.
Romania also stops using it
Romanian authorities have temporarily halted corona vaccination with a batch of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine as an “extreme precaution” while the deaths in Italy are investigated.
Other doses of the company would continue to be used, a Romanian health authority said on Thursday, according to the Reuters news agency. Italian health authorities ordered the withdrawal of a batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine after the death of three men in Sicily who were recently vaccinated. Romania claims to have received cans from the same batch. Of the 81,600 cans received in early February, 77,049 have been inoculated so far. The suspension will last until the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has completed its investigation.
“This decision was taken as an extreme precaution, without any scientific argument in Romania to justify it,” the Romanian national committee responsible for corona vaccination said in a statement, according to Reuters. The decision was made solely on the basis of the facts reported in Italy.
Austria joins AstraZeneca
Additionally, health authorities in Denmark, Norway and Iceland suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Thursday after reports of blood clots in some vaccinated people, we reported. In Austria, following the death of a 49-year-old person as a result of severe bleeding disorders, a batch was withdrawn from circulation. The National Vaccination Committee, the Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG), the Ministry of Health and the federal states, however, spoke in favor of continuing to use the vaccine.
Romania reported 5,236 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, the highest number this year. More than 1.1 million Romanians in the country with a population of 20 million have received at least one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines.
Thailand also suspends vaccination for the time being
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and members of his cabinet have postponed their vaccination scheduled for Friday with the preparation of manufacturer AstraZeneca for now. The government is reacting to the decision by Denmark and other countries not to temporarily vaccinate anyone with the corona vaccine from the British-Swedish company, the “Bangkok Post” reported. The reason cited was reports of severe blood clots, the newspaper said. If European pharmaceutical authorities give AstraZeneca the green light after their investigations, Thailand will also resume vaccinations, said physician Prasit Watanapa.
The Southeast Asian country received 117,000 doses of the vaccine last month. “With this postponement, we are not saying that the vaccine is problematic. We are just waiting to see if there is any effect on the vaccine or just on this batch of vaccine,” said virologist Yong Poovorawan.
Denmark had decided not to vaccinate anyone with the AstraZeneca vaccine for the time being. A possible death was also reported in this setting. At this time, however, it was not yet possible to determine whether there was a connection between the vaccine and blood clots, he said. According to authorities, the shutdown will initially take 14 days. After the announcement in Copenhagen, non-EU countries Norway and Iceland also decided to temporarily stop the use of the Astrazeneca preparation.
In Austria, following the death of a 49-year-old person as a result of severe bleeding disorders, a batch was withdrawn from circulation. The National Vaccination Committee, the Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG), the Ministry of Health and the federal states, however, spoke in favor of continuing to use the vaccine.
