Federal health authorities are investigating the death of a 48-year-old diabetic New South Wales woman who developed blood clots after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
The ABC has been told preliminary tests did not find a conclusive link to the vaccination.
But more tests are needed to confirm what role, if any, the vaccine had in her death.
It is not known which vaccine she received.
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— Australian Government Department of Health (@healthgovau) April 15, 2021
In a statement, a NSW Health Department spokesperson said the department would not speculate on or discuss individual cases, but offered condolences to the family of the woman who died.
“The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is responsible for regulating and monitoring the use of COVID-19 vaccines in Australia,” the spokesperson said.
“Monitoring involves detecting and responding to any emerging safety concerns related to COVID-19 vaccines, particularly any adverse events following immunisation.”
The spokesperson said NSW Health was notified whenever a serious or unexpected adverse event occurred.
“NSW Health investigates these events and refers its expert panel findings to the TGA, which is responsible for assessing causality,” they said.
They noted that many “conditions” could arise during normal life, regardless of receiving a vaccine, but that it was important for anyone worried they were experiencing an adverse effect after a vaccination to contact their doctor.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is no longer recommended for people under the age of 50, due the extremely small risk of blood clots.
The government announced last week it was changing its advice so that Pfizer would now be the recommended vaccine for anyone under 50.
It has also secured an extra 20 million doses of Pfizer, which are due to arrive in the last quarter of this year.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison scrapped the government’s vaccination targets after making the decision to limit the use of the AstraZeneca product.
–ABC
