Spain is investigating three people who had blood clots after receiving the now controversial AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine – including a professor who died of cerebral hemorrhage, officials said on Wednesday.
The 43-year-old math teacher from Marbella had no pre-existing conditions before receiving the injection that was stopped in more than a dozen countries because of fear of the blood clot, El País said.
She went to the emergency room after falling ill with a severe headache a few hours after being bitten on March 3, but was ruled out as side effects of routine vaccination, the report said, citing the regional newspaper Diario Sur.
The mother of two – who was not identified – returned to the hospital 10 days later, and tests showed she had suffered a brain hemorrhage, the report said.
She was rushed to the operating room, but died on Tuesday, the media said.
Neither health officials nor the clinic where she was admitted confirmed the details, citing data protection laws, Agence France-Presse said.
But another case of thrombosis in a newly vaccinated person was also reported on Tuesday, joining one on Monday, the reports said, without further details.
The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) said it is “conducting an exhaustive investigation to find out if there is only a causal relationship with the administration of the vaccine,” said AFP.
“All three cases share the peculiarity that thrombosis events were associated with lower blood platelet counts,” said AEMPS – matching the “highly unusual symptoms” of a 60-year-old Danish woman who died after vaccination .
Until suspended on Monday, the injection of AstraZeneca was administered to 975,661 people, and AEMPS emphasized that blood clots “can also occur among the general population”.
The European nation reported on Wednesday more than 3 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, with more than 72,500 deaths.
The European Medicines Agency said it is “firmly convinced” that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the potential risks, insisting that there is no evidence linking it to blood clots.
The World Health Organization has also championed the UK drug, made in collaboration with the University of Oxford.