Live breaking news: Melbourne man hospitalised after AstraZeneca vaccine

A 44-year-old man has been admitted to hospital in Melbourne with a rare blood clotting condition after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

A 44-year-old man has been admitted to hospital in Melbourne with a rare blood clotting condition after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

The man received the jab on March 22, and presented to hospital with a fever and abdominal pain.

He was found to have abdominal clots with a very low platelet count, with the symptoms mirroring those described by German scientists following administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine, The Australianreports.

The scientists dubbed them vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia (VIPIT). In Canada, officials estimated it has a 40 per cent mortality rate.

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) met today and is discussing the case, with acting chief medical officer Michael Kidd set to provide an update on his condition this afternoon.

Australian health authorities and hospitals have repeatedly maintained that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has continued to back the rollout of it across the nation – despite several European countries and Canada suspending or restricting their usage of it in recent weeks.

In a statement on March 19, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) "concluded that the benefits of vaccination using AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine continue to outweigh any risk of side effects".

This live blog has now ended. Read on for earlier updates or visit the news.com.au homepage for the latest news.

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