ZURICH (Reuters) – Austrian authorities suspend vaccinations with a group of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution while investigating the deaths of one person and the illness of another after the shots, a health agency said on Sunday said.
“The Federal Office for Health Safety (BASG) has received two reports in a temporary connection with a vaccination from the same group of AstraZeneca vaccine in the district clinic of Zwettl” in the province of Lower Austria.
One 49-year-old woman has died from severe coagulation disorders, while a 35-year-old woman has developed pulmonary embolism and is recovering, he said. A pulmonary embolism is an acute lung disease caused by a detached blood clot.
“There is currently no evidence of a causal link with the vaccination,” BASG said.
The Austrian newspaper Niederoesterreichische Nachrichten as well as the broadcaster ORF and the APA news agency reported that the women were both nurses who worked in the Zwettl clinic.
BASG said that blood clotting is not one of the known side effects of the vaccine. This followed his investigation vigorously to eliminate any possible link altogether.
“As a precautionary measure, the remaining stock of the vaccine group in question will no longer be issued or vaccinated,” he added.
A spokesman for AstraZeneca said: “There were no confirmed serious side effects associated with the vaccine,” adding that all groups are subject to strict and strict quality control.
Trials and actual experience so far indicate that the vaccine is safe and effective and has been approved for use in more than 50 countries, he said.
AstraZeneca also said it was in contact with the Austrian authorities and would fully support the investigation.
European Union regulators approved the product at the end of January, saying it was effective and safe to use, while the World Health Organization (WHO) listed the product for emergency use in mid-February.
Adverse reactions seen in trials were mostly of short duration and problems with blood clotting were not reported.
A safety assessment by Germany’s vaccine regulator of more than 360,000 people who received the Astra vaccine in the country between the launch in early February and 26 February concluded that adverse reactions were in line with the safety profile described in clinical trials. .
Reporting by Michael Shields in Zurich, Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt, editing by Louise Heavens