Austria suspends use of batch of Covid jab after death of nurse
Authorities in Austria have stopped vaccinations with a batch of
AstraZeneca's inoculation against the coronavirus, after one person died
and another became seriously ill after receiving their jabs.
“The Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) has received two
reports in a temporal connection with a vaccination from the same batch
of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the district clinic of Zwettl” in Lower
Austria province, the local health authority said.
“Currently there is no evidence of a causal relationship with the
vaccination,” the BASG said, adding that it would now investigate the
incidents further.
A 49-year-old woman died as a result of severe coagulation disorders, an illness related to the blood’s ability to clot.
The woman was admitted to the intensive care unit of Vienna General
Hospital last weekend after initially being treated at a hospital in
Lower Austria. A day after being admitted, the woman died.
“The woman received the first partial vaccination of a Covid19
vaccine ten days before hospital admission,” a spokesperson for the
Vienna hospital told the Niederoesterreichische Nachrichten.
Meanwhile, a 35-year-old female developed a pulmonary embolism and is
now recovering. A pulmonary embolism is a lung disease that is caused
by a dislodged blood clot.
Several local news organization reported that both women were nurses working at the local hospital.
Anton Heinzl, from the centre-left said that “we have to wait for the
results of the inquiry. After all, it is an approved vaccine. We first
have to see if there is a connection with these cases.”
The far-right FPÖ said on Saturday that “until a connection can be ruled
out with certainty, vaccinations with the AstraZeneca vaccine must be
suspended with immediate effect.”
