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COVID-19

No link between death of Spanish teacher and AstraZeneca vaccine, autopsy reveals

The autopsy on the 43-year-old Marbella teacher, Pilar González Bres, who died from a brain haemorrhage, two weeks after receiving the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, reveals that there was no link between the jab and her death.

Published: 19 March 2021 17:08 CET
AstraZeneca vaccine
Image: MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP

The Andalusian regional healthcare chief Jesús Aguirre, said on Friday that an initial autopsy report revealed that there was “no causal relationship” between González being vaccinated and her subsequent brain hemorrhage. He added that the report was “conclusive”.

READ ALSO: Spain probes death of Marbella teacher after AstraZeneca jab

The SUR newspaper reported that sources revealed there were no signs of blood clots in the teacher’s body and that she was “at a high risk for suffering a stroke”. It is thought that she may have had an aneurysm, which is likely to have caused the brain haemorrhage.

The autopsy was performed at the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella.

Spanish health officials were also investigating two other cases of thrombosis after people had received the AstraZeneca vaccine, however, the results have not yet been reported.

The announcement of the death and other blood clot cases by Spain’s AEMPS medicines agency, came two days after the government suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday, March 15th, as a precautionary measure.

Germany, France, and Italy also announced similar moves linked to fears that the vaccine could generate serious blood clots which can cause swellings, heart attacks and haemorrhages.

On Thursday, March 18th, Spain announced that it would resume AstraZeneca vaccinations next Wednesday, after learning the results from the investigation into the possible link between AstraZeneca and blood clots, by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

“The decision was taken unanimously as the benefits outweighed the risks, in line with the findings from the European Medicines Agency,” Health Minister Carolina Darias told a news briefing after a meeting with Spain’s regional health chiefs.

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COVID-19

Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

Sweden's Public Health Agency is recommending that those above the age of 80 should receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, as it shifts towards a longer-term strategy for the virus.

Published: 23 December 2022 10:53 CET
Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

In a new recommendation, the agency said that those living in elderly care centres, and those above the age of 80 should from March 1st receive two vaccinations a year, with a six month gap between doses. 

“Elderly people develop a somewhat worse immune defence after vaccination and immunity wanes faster than among young and healthy people,” the agency said. “That means that elderly people have a greater need of booster doses than younger ones. The Swedish Public Health Agency considers, based on the current knowledge, that it will be important even going into the future to have booster doses for the elderly and people in risk groups.” 

READ ALSO: 

People between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and young people with risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, poor kidney function or high blood pressure, are recommended to take one additional dose per year.

The new vaccination recommendation, which will start to apply from March 1st next year, is only for 2023, Johanna Rubin, the investigator in the agency’s vaccination programme unit, explained. 

She said too much was still unclear about how long protection from vaccination lasted to institute a permanent programme.

“This recommendation applies to 2023. There is not really an abundance of data on how long protection lasts after a booster dose, of course, but this is what we can say for now,” she told the TT newswire. 

It was likely, however, that elderly people would end up being given an annual dose to protect them from any new variants, as has long been the case with influenza.

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