Spain is investigating three people who had blood clots after receiving the now controversial AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine – including a teacher who died of a brain haemorrhage, authorities announced Wednesday.
The 43-year-old math teacher from Marbella had no pre-existing conditions before receiving the injection, which has been stopped in more than a dozen countries due to fears of blood clots, El Pais said.
She went to the emergency room after falling ill with severe headaches within hours of being stung on March 3, but it was dismissed as routine side effects of vaccination, the report said, citing regional newspaper Diario Sur.
The mother of two – who had not been identified – went back to the hospital 10 days later and scans showed she had suffered a brain haemorrhage, the report said.
She was rushed to the operating room but died Tuesday, the outlets said.
Neither the health authorities nor the clinic where she was admitted would confirm details, citing data protection laws, Agence France-Presse said.
But another thrombosis case from a newly vaccinated person was also reported Tuesday and joined one case as of Monday, the reports said, with no effect.
The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) said it was “conducting a thorough investigation to find out if there was a causal link with the administration of the vaccine alone,” said AFP.
“All three cases share the peculiarity that the thrombosis events were related to a lower platelet count,” said AEMPS – corresponding to the “highly unusual symptoms” of a 60-year-old Danish woman who died after vaccination.
Until it was suspended Monday, the AstraZeneca injection had been administered to 975,661 people, and AEMPS emphasized that blood clots “can also occur in the general population.”
The European nation had reported more than 3 million confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, with more than 72,500 dead.
The European Medicines Agency has said it is “firmly convinced” that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh its potential risks, and stressed that there was no evidence that it was associated with blood clots.
The World Health Organization has also defended the British drug created in partnership with Oxford University.