A 50-year-old woman from Alberta, Canada has passed away after receiving the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine. The chief medical officer of health in the province confirmed that a rare blood clot resulted in the patient's death.
Reason Behind Alberta Woman's Death
On Tuesday, May 4, the province's chief medical officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw stated the reason why the woman died after accepting a jab from the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company.
Hinshaw said that the death was linked to vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT). At the time of writing, it was the first death recorded in the province in connection with the vaccine, CBC reported.
In a statement, Hinshaw said that they will be hiding the identity of the woman for the privacy of her family. She also highlighted that a person could face a bigger risk of dying from COVID-19-related outcomes than the risk that the AstraZeneca vaccine could expose.
Currently, the province has administered over 253,000 AstraZeneca or CoviShield doses. The woman's death was the second case related to VITT in Alberta, as Hinshaw mentioned.
VITT vs Common Blood Clot
According to the latest report of Global News Canada, there is a difference that can be made between VITT and the regular blood clot condition. The former case rarely occurs and it could result in the CVST (cerebral venous sinus thrombosis), which could cause extreme bleeding and sudden draining of the blood from the brain through the veins.
The chance that VITT could happen in an individual receiving a vaccine is 1 out of 100,000 shots, according to the estimates made by the National Advisory Council on Immunization.
On Monday, May 3, Canada recorded seven cases of patients who suffered from VITT. One of them has died. The experts still informed the public to get a vaccine as soon as possible since the risk of contracting COVID-19 is higher than acquiring VITT.
In an email, Hickshaw said that those 50 to 59-year-old Albertans could likely perish 350 more times in COVID-19 infection than experiencing VITT after receiving an AstraZeneca shot.
"They are also at least 1,500 times more likely to be hospitalized from COVID-19 than experiencing VITT after getting AstraZeneca," Hickshaw added.
Earlier, Health Canada said that the British-Swedish company has been complying with the strict safety standards of the country. The agency added that it will continue monitoring all outcomes so that it could assess the benefits while evaluating the risks of the vaccine.
Last month, GenXZeneca trended all over social media. The Gen X, those who are born in 1981 or earlier, were reportedly given a pass to have an AstraZeneca vaccine
Several Canadian provinces like Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and British Columbia have allowed their citizens to be legitimately vaccinated.
As a result, the residents learned about this and they immediately rushed to the vaccination sites. Many of them posted some cultural references of their situation after receiving an AstraZeneca jab.
Related Article: European Union Files Lawsuit to AstraZeneca Over Vaccine Delivery Delays--What Happened?
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Written by Joseph Henry
