Australia Minister: death of woman linked to AZ vaccine

Australia's Health Minister confirmed on Saturday in Melbourne that the death of a 48-year-old woman due to a rare blood clot is 'likely' linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine the woman was injected with. "The TGA Vaccine Safety and Investigation Group, or what's known as VSIG, met late yesterday and concluded that a recently reported case of thrombosis or blood clots in the arteries and veins with thrombocytopenia, which is a low platelet count condition, in a 48-year-old New South Wales woman is likely to have been linked to vaccination," said Greg Hunt.

Australia on Friday reported its first death linked to the AstraZeneca shot after 885,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine suspected of causing rare blood clots were administered across the nation. The 48-year-old woman was injected with the vaccine on April 8, hours before Australian authorities recommended people under the age of 50 take the Pfizer shot instead because of the small risk of blood clots associated with AstraZeneca, Therapeutic Goods Administration, the vaccine regulator, said in a statement.

"We know that this is the third case that has been likely linked to this condition within Australia. I believe the first two have been confirmed and this one is in the 'likely' assessment at this stage," said Hunt. She was admitted with blood clots to a Newcastle hospital in New South Wales state four days later and died on Thursday, the statement said.

"The government will ask ATAGI (Australian Technical and Advisory Group on Immunization) to ensure continuous review, continuous review of all of the vaccines in terms of their safety and their efficacy. That work is already conducted by the Therapeutic Goods Administration but continuous review is exactly why we have prioritized safety above all else," Hunt told reporters.