Italy has also temporarily stopped vaccination against COVID-19 at a specific manufacturing unit developed by the multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.
The Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) released a press release on the 11th (local time) and announced on the 11th (local time) that it has decided to temporarily suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, whose manufacturing unit is’ABV2856′, nationwide.
AIFA said it had made this precautionary decision regarding a recently reported suspected serious adverse event, but did not specifically mention the case.
In response, ANSA news agency cited sources saying that AIFA’s decision was related to two fatalities in Sicily.
Reportedly, a 43-year-old man serving in the navy died of a heart attack at the dawn of the 10th, a day after the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
In addition, a 50-year-old police officer in Sicily was reported to have died late last month after getting the same vaccine.
The policeman said he had a problem with his body just one day after vaccination.
At the time, the doctor diagnosed thrombosis, which was said to lead to complications such as cerebral hemorrhage, leading to death.
The Italian investigative authorities are investigating the exact details of the vaccine distribution personnel and vaccination staff regarding the death case.
However, AIFA stressed that a causal relationship between these deaths and vaccination has not been confirmed to date.
A phone call between Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and European Union Commissioner Urzula Pon der Leien highlighted the lack of a connection between the thrombosis cases reported in Europe and the AstraZeneca vaccination.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has also reiterated its official position that the vaccine can continue while the investigation is under way, with no indication in its statement that the vaccination caused thrombosis.
In Europe, in addition to Italy, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway and Iceland have temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s specific manufacturing unit vaccine or the entire vaccine.