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ZURICH (Reuters) – Austrian authorities suspended inoculations with a batch of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution while investigating the death of one person and the illness of another after the injections, a health agency said on Sunday.
“The Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) has received two reports on a temporary connection with a vaccine from the same batch of AstraZeneca vaccine at the Zwettl district clinic” in the province of Lower Austria, he said. .
A 49-year-old woman died as a result of severe bleeding disorders, while a 35-year-old woman developed a pulmonary embolism and is recovering, he said. A pulmonary embolism is an acute lung disease caused by a dislodged blood clot.
“There is currently no evidence of a causal relationship with the vaccine,” BASG said.
The Swiss newspaper Niederoesterreichische Nachrichten, as well as broadcaster ORF and APA news agency, reported that the women were nurses working at the Zwettl clinic.
BASG said that blood clotting was not among the known side effects of the vaccine. He continues his investigation vigorously to completely rule out any possible links.
“As a precautionary measure, the remaining stocks of the affected vaccine lot are no longer being issued or vaccinated,” he added.
AstraZeneca did not immediately comment when contacted by Reuters.
The APA news agency quoted AstraZeneca as saying that the company was in contact with Austrian authorities and would fully support the investigation.
He noted that the vaccine had been approved by the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization on the basis of a global clinical program involving 23,000 participants.
“All of these evaluations have concluded that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 19 vaccine is safe and effective,” the company quoted APA as saying.
European Union regulators approved the product on January 30, saying it was effective and safe to use. The adverse reactions observed in the trials were of short duration for the most part and no blood clotting problems were reported.
(Information from Michael Shields, additional information from Ludwig Burger, Louise Heavens edition)
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