AstraZeneca banned for under-60s after teen death
Italy’s vaccination campaign thrown into chaos as it restricts the jab to over-60s, after 18-year-old woman dies from blood clotting.
Italy’s vaccination campaign has been thrown into chaos after experts banned the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for the under-60s only days after young Italians were encouraged to take it.
The restriction on the use of the vaccine followed the death last Thursday from blood clotting of an 18-year-old woman in Liguria who had her first jab on May 25.
Camilla Canepa, a promising basketball player who was preparing for school exams, suffered a brain haemorrhage and abdominal blood clots. Her death triggered concern about the jab although she was said to have been taking a hormonal medicine linked to clots.
The following day, government experts ruled out using the vaccine for people under 60. One million Italians under that age who are awaiting their second AstraZeneca shots must switch to either Moderna or Pfizer.
Canepa had lined up to get her jab at one of many AstraZeneca “open days” held across Italy, where young people were invited to show up to use up stocks. About 47 per cent of Italians have received at least one vaccine dose.
Italy has repeatedly changed its advice on the use of the AstraZeneca jab. Initially it said it could only be used for under-55s because data on the elderly was limited. In March it halted jabs owing to concerns about blood clots in the young, then resumed use but recommended that health authorities focus the vaccine on the old, without ruling out their use on the young. Nicola Magrini, director of Italy’s drugs agency, said at the time that the vaccine was “safe and efficient for all ages”.
Owing to lingering suspicions about the jab, unused stocks had built up and regional authorities ran the open days.
After Canepa’s death, Alessio D’Amato, health chief in Lazio, said he was fed up with “recommendations” rather than clear instructions from government. “They need to say yes or no.”
An official at the European Medicines Agency said that Canepa should not have been given the jab because of her age. He further complicated the issue when asked if AstraZeneca should be banned for over-60s as well. “Yes, and it is an option that many countries, such as France and Germany, are considering,” he said.
The Times
More Coverage
Germany’s new leader must stand up to Putin
If the chancellor and western allies are to keep Ukraine safe, decades of submissiveness have to go.
Warring parties unveil plans to split Sudan in two Warring parties unveil plans to split Sudan in two Warring parties unveil plans to split Sudan in two
The two warring factions in Sudan have announced parallel plans for the country’s future, nudging it closer to becoming a de facto partitioned state after three years of civil war.