A 54 year old woman in the Canadian province of Quebec has died due to a bleeding disorder after being vaccinated against the coronavirus with AstraZeneca. Quebec’s public health director Horacio Arruda said “We just had our first patient who has died of a thrombosis, cerebral thrombosis, following vaccination from AstraZeneca.. This is an event that is rare. We knew that it might happen. We have a risk of default one in every 100,000 doses today.” Montreal’s McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) also confirmed that the death occurred in one of its hospitals.
A total of 6 non-fatal cases of bleeding disorders after vaccination were reported in the country. The Canadian officials say the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks.
As of 24th April, Ontario, Alberta, New Brunswick and Quebec had reported cases of blood clotting related to the AstraZeneca vaccine. But the doctors had said that they have the remedy to blood clots too.
Health Canada approved the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine on February 26. In addition, Pfizer – BioNTech, Moderna and Janssen are authorized in the country. Canada has also accepted Medicago’s application for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine which is combined with a booster from GlaxoSmithKline
The AstraZeneca vaccine has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration but regulators from many countries, including Canada and Mexico have given it the green light.