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ROME, March 11 (Reuters) - Italy's decision to ban a batch
of AstraZeneca vaccine was taken following the deaths of
two men in Sicily who had recently been inoculated, a source
close to the matter said on Thursday.
Italy's medicines authority Aifa said earlier that the ban
was a "precautionary" measure, adding that no link had been
established between the vaccine and subsequent "serious adverse
events."
The source said Aifa had moved after Stefano Paterno, a
43-year-old navy officer, died earlier this week of a suspected
heart attack the day after his jab.
A second man, 50-year-old policeman Davide Villa, died last
weekend, some 12 days after his jab. Local newspapers reported
he fell ill within 24 hours of his injection and never
recovered.
The source said both men had received shots from
AstraZeneca's ABV2856 batch.
(Reporting by Emilio Parodi; Writing by Crispian Balmer;
Editing by Gavin Jones)
