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ZURICH, March 7 (Reuters) - Austrian authorities have
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 shots, a
health agency said on Sunday.
"The Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) has
received two reports in a temporal connection with a vaccination
from the same batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the district
clinic of Zwettl" in Lower Austria province, it said.
One 49-year-old woman died as a result of severe coagulation
disorders, while a 35-year-old woman developed a pulmonary
embolism and is recovering, it said. A pulmonary embolism is an
acute lung disease caused by a dislodged blood clot.
"Currently there is no evidence of a causal relationship
with the vaccination," BASG said.
Swiss newspaper Niederoesterreichische Nachrichten as well
as broadcaster ORF and the APA news agency reported that the
women were both nurses who worked at the Zwettl clinic.
BASG said blood clotting was not among the known side
effects of the vaccine. It was pursuing its investigation
vigorously to completely rule out any possible link.
"As a precautionary measure, the remaining stocks of the
affected vaccine batch are no longer being issued or
vaccinated," it added.
AstraZeneca had no immediate comment when contacted by
Reuters.
The APA news agency quoted AstraZeneca as saying the company
was in contact with Austrian authorities and would fully support
the investigation.
It noted the vaccine had been approved by the European
Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization based on 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," APA
quoted the company as saying.
European Union regulators on Jan. 30 approved the product,
saying it was effective and safe to use. Adverse reactions seen
in trials were short-lived for the most part and blood clotting
issues were not reported.
(Reporting by Michael Shields, additional reporting by Ludwig
Burger, editing by Louise Heavens)
