Canada’s Alberta reports first case of death following AstraZeneca vaccination

Alberta, a province in Western Canada, reported its first case of death from a rare condition of a blood clot after getting vaccinated by AstraZeneca, a COVID-19 vaccine, told its chief medical officer. Canada has reported as many as five cases of blood clotting following inoculation from the COVID vaccine, but public health officials maintain their claims of its benefits outweighing the risks, reported Reuters.

A woman in her 50s in Alberta was the second person to have the condition of blood clotting and the first to be reported dead following the vaccination of AstraZeneca in the province. There have been at least 253,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine in Alberta, said Dr Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer, on Tuesday.

Also Read: EU accelerates vaccine production, to have enough for 70% of adults ‘in July’

“While any death is tragic, it is important to remember that the risks of dying or suffering other severe outcomes from COVID-19 remain far greater than the risk following AstraZeneca vaccine”, said Hinshaw to Reuters.

The province of Quebec also reported its first case of death of a patient following vaccination of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, last month.

Canada has had over 1,243,242 cases of COVID-19 and at least 24,342 deaths, according to a tally made by Reuters.

Several countries have stalled their usage of the AstraZeneca vaccine in March following the reports of unusual blood clots. And some of the countries resumed its usage recently after health regulators made clear of its health benefits.