Austrian health authorities have stopped administering a batch of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines after the death of a nurse, although "
no cause and effect
" has been established at this stage, the Office said. Federal Council for Health Care Safety (BASG) in a press release published on Sunday, March 7.
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The 49-year-old victim, who had received a dose of the offending batch at the Zwettl regional hospital (Lower Austria), died a few days later as a result of "
serious bleeding disorders
".
One of her colleagues, aged 35, vaccinated with the same batch, "
developed pulmonary embolism
" but is currently "
on the mend
".
According to press reports, however, she suffered from a medical history.
"
For safety reasons
", it was decided "
not to distribute the remaining stocks of the batch
", specifies the BASG which says "
actively carry out all the necessary investigations to definitively exclude any link
".
The Office notes that the cause of death "
is not one of the known side effects
" of the AstraZeneca vaccine, "
based on known clinical data
" and information collected internationally from people vaccinated.
The result of the autopsy, carried out by the Vienna AKH hospital, should only be available in the coming weeks.
For its part, the regional prosecutor's office will not take legal action against the hospital, according to a spokesperson contacted by AFP, no anomaly having been noted at the level of delivery, storage or administration of vaccines.
Since the start of vaccination campaigns against the coronavirus, cases of people who died when they had received an injection shortly before an injection have been reported in some countries.
Examined closely, these deaths, very few, are not yet attributed to the vaccine.