AstraZeneca | The second Canadian had a blood clot after receiving the vaccine

The Canadian Press

The district’s chief medical officer, Dr. Dina Henshaw, said the patient, who was in his 60s, was recovering. He is the second Canadian to suffer from this rare disease called “vaccine-induced thrombocytopenia” (TIPIV).

And she said in a statement that the news does not change the province’s risk assessment of the vaccine.

Dr Henshaw continues to recommend the AstraZeneca vaccine for people aged 55 or over and suggests that all Alberta people get the vaccine “as soon as possible”.

More than 700,000 doses of AstraZeneca have been administered in Canada to date.

Globally, the incidence of TIPIV is estimated to be around one in 100,000 to 250,000 doses, Hinshaw said.

By comparison, she says, Alberta residents 55 years of age and older who contract COVID-19 have a 1 in 200 chance of dying from the infection.

A Quebec resident was the first person in the country to have a blood clot after receiving a vaccine.

The Canadian Public Health Agency said the woman received the “Coffeeshield” vaccine, the India-made Oxford AstraZeneca formula, at the Serum Institute, and was recovering at home.

“Although every unfortunate adverse reaction,” Dr. Henshaw recalls, “it is important to remember that these blood clots are extremely rare and that this vaccine helps prevent the higher risks that come from contracting COVID-19.”