Spanish health authorities say they are investigating the death of a 43-year-old woman who died on Tuesday after receiving her first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine, as well as two other cases of blood-clotting among recipients.
The woman, who lived in Marbella, was reportedly in good health before receiving the vaccine, but fell ill hours after her first dose on March 2. She twice visited emergency clinics over the following 10 days, before a CT scan showed a brain hemorrhage, according to local reports. She underwent surgery but died on Tuesday, and an autopsy will be carried out to determine the specific cause of her illness and death.
The government suspended Spain’s rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine on Monday for two weeks while its regulators and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) investigate a fatality in each of Denmark and Austria, as well as reports of blood-clotting in a small number of people who had received the jab.
The use of the AstraZeneca vaccine has been paused in 11 European countries as a precaution while awaiting the results of the various inquiries. The EMA said on Tuesday that it had full confidence in its continued use.
The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) said on Wednesday it is trying to find any “predisposing factor” that might lead to increased blood-clotting risks when the vaccine is given. It said these risks “can also occur in the general population,” and 1.9 million doses of the AstraZeneca inoculation had already been administered in Spain.
When its use was suspended in Spain, the jab had only been given to people aged between 18 and 55. So far, Spanish health authorities have administered almost 5.7 million doses combined of the AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
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