Germany’s medical regulator says it has received reports of 21 cases of rare blood clots in people who had recently received AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine.
The Paul Ehrlich Institute said in an email Monday to The Associated Press that seven people affected by the blood clots have died.
The incidence of an unusual form of blood clot in the head, known as sinus vein thrombosis, prompted several European countries to temporarily halt the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine earlier this month. After a review by medical experts. the European Union’s medical regulator EMA recommended that warnings about possible rare side effects should be added to the vaccine information provided for patients and doctors.
Most EU countries have since resumed use of the vaccine.
The Paul Ehrlich Institute said that of the 21 cases reported in Germany until March 25, 12 also involved an abnormally low level of platelets in the patients’ blood.
Of the 21 cases, 19 were in women ages 20 to 63, while two were in men ages 36 and 57.
During the period covered by the reports, some 2.27 million first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were administered in Germany.
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