SPANISH AUTHORITIES

No link between woman's death and AstraZeneca jab

The person who died was a 43-year-old maths teacher in the southern city of Marbella with no pre-existing health conditions

The AstraZeneca jab has been in the spotlight over a possible link to blood clots. Illustration

H. J. I. / AFP

There is no causal link between the death of a 43-year-old woman and the AstraZeneca virus vaccine she was given, Spanish health authorities said on Friday.

The AstraZeneca jab has been in the spotlight over a possible link to blood clots, but the European Medical agency has given it the all-clear and several EU countries resumed vaccinations with it on Friday.

-There exists no cause/effect relationship between the administering of the AstraZeneca vaccine and the death of this woman- said Jess Aguirre, health official for the southern region of Andalusia.

The person who died was a 43-year-old maths teacher in the southern city of Marbella with no pre-existing health conditions.

She suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and had complained of headaches after having the jab, but doctors had attributed the headaches to the normal side effects associated with the vaccine, Diario Sur newspaper reported.

Spain halted use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in mid-March, along with several other countries but, following the EMA all-clear, announced on Thursday that it will resume administering the jabs next week.

The Andalusian health authority confirmed to AFP that no "causal link" had been found between the vaccine and the woman's death, according to the preliminary autopsy report.

Her case is one of three investigations underway concerning people who suffered from thrombosis after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Health Minister Carolina Darias told a news conference on Wednesday that she "understood the concerns", but stressed that Spain has so far recorded just those three cases of thrombosis out of the 975,661 people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Spain has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 3.2 million cases registered and over 72,900 deaths.