An Alberta woman in her 50s has died after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, according to the province’s chief medical officer of health.
In a news release issued Tuesday night, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said the fatality was confirmed to be linked to “vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT).”
Hinshaw said for patient confidentiality reasons, she would not provide additional case information.
“While any death is tragic, it is important to remember that the risks of dying or suffering other severe outcomes from COVID-19 remain far greater than the risk following AstraZeneca vaccine,” she said.
“The Alberta case marks the second VITT case and only death related to VITT out of more than 253,000 doses of AstraZeneca or CoviSHIELD/AstraZeneca that have been administered in Alberta to date.”
Hinshaw noted that the global frequency of VITT has been estimated at roughly one case in 100,000 to 250,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“In comparison, Albertans 50 to 59 who are diagnosed with COVID-19 are 350 times more likely to die from that infection than to experience VITT after an AstraZeneca vaccine. They are also at least 1,500 times more likely to be hospitalized from COVID-19 than experiencing VITT after getting AstraZeneca.”
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Last month, Canada reported its first case of a rare blood clot in a person who had received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
A Quebec woman who passed away in late April was the first Canadian to die of the condition after receiving the vaccine.
Watch below: Some Global News videos about the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
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