Norway announced on Monday the death by cerebral hemorrhage of a caregiver under the age of 50 who had been hospitalized after receiving an injection of AstraZeneca's anti-Covid vaccine, without a link between the two being able to be established at this stage.
Read also: Germany suspends vaccination with AstraZeneca
This is the second fatal analogous case reported in a few days in the Nordic country which suspended Thursday "
as a precaution
" the vaccine developed by the Anglo-Swedish laboratory.
On Saturday, Norwegian health authorities reported the hospitalization of three healthcare workers suffering from thrombocytopenia (abnormally low amount of blood platelets), bleeding and blood clots.
Presented as relatively young, all had previously received a first injection of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
One of these three caregivers, described as a woman under 50 years old until then "
in good health
", died this Sunday following a cerebral hemorrhage, said health authorities.
She was hospitalized Thursday, about a week after receiving the vaccine developed by the Anglo-Swedish laboratory.
"
We cannot rule out or confirm that this has something to do with the vaccine,
" Norwegian Medicines Agency official Steinar Madsen said at a press conference.
The state of health of the two other hospitalized caregivers was classified as stationary.
Read also: Covid-19: should France suspend the AstraZeneca vaccine as a precaution?
Another caregiver in her thirties also died last Friday in Norway, ten days after receiving the same vaccine.
Other deaths have also been reported in Europe, notably in Austria and Denmark.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is investigating whether these cases are related to the vaccine.
This Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) had assured that there was "
no reason not to use
" it and the manufacturer is also reassuring.
According to Norwegian medical authorities, around 130,000 people were administered the vaccine in the Nordic country, until the suspension announced Thursday in the wake of Denmark and Iceland over fears of blood clots.
Other countries - Bulgaria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany - have since taken a similar decision.
