Italy's national pharmaceutical agency said four people died in from a rare blood clot after they were administered the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
The agency, AIFA, also said various side-effects were seen in a tiny section of the people after 9.07 million doses of the vaccine were administered until March 26. it said all unwelcome reactions were noticed in all three vaccines -- Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna. Severe side-effects were recorded in 0.04 percent of cases.
Mild side-effects have been reported after use of all three vaccines, the AIFA report said, adding most involved flu-like symptoms, pain in the injection site and tiredness.
Italy had Paused Administration of Shots
Italy had paused the administration of AstraZeneca vaccine in March after widespread concerns over possible blood clots were reported. The European Medicines Agency later said it had found a possible link between AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine and reports of very rare cases of blood clots.
Safety concerns prompted more than a dozen countries to suspend use of the vaccine, which has been given to tens of millions of people in Europe, after reports linking it to a brain blood clotting disorder in a few dozen recipients.
Later, Italy resumed administering AstraZeneca doses for people above 60.
According to AIFA, there have been 11 cases in which people developed one of two types of blood clots following their AstraZeneca shot. These were cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) and thrombosis involving multiple blood vessels, IANS news agency reported.
In a serious case of adverse reaction, four of those 11 people died.
AstraZeneca Says It's Working on the Situation
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca said it was working to understand individual cases and possible mechanisms that could explain these extremely rare events.
US Pauses Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
The blood clot concerns are not limited to AstraZeneca vaccine alone. Last week, the United States health regulators including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US Food and Drug Administration recommended a "pause" in administering the single-dose of Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine amid concerns over reports of blood clots.
It is reported that six people were diagnosed with a "rare and severe" type blood clot after taking the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which directly affected the brain, lowering their blood platelets. The rare blood clot is called 'cerebral venous sinus thrombosis'.
As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the US before hitting the pause button by the federal authorities.
