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A nurse prepares a dose of the coronavirus AstraZeneca (COVID-19) vaccine in Fasano, Italy, April 13, 2021. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo/File Photo
The Italian government said Friday it is restricting the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to people over 60, after the death of a teenager who received the injection from a rare form of blood clotting.
Camila Canepa died Thursday at the age of 18 after being administered the vaccine on May 25, sparking media and political outrage over the launch of the Anglo-Swedish company to be used for adults of all ages despite medical concerns raised previously.
“AstraZeneca will only be used by people over the age of 60,” Francesco Figliolo, the country’s special commissioner for Covid, told reporters.
The government’s chief medical adviser, Franco Locatelli, said at the same press conference that people under 60 who received a first dose of AstraZeneca should be given a different vaccine for the second dose.
“The assessment of risks and benefits has changed,” Locatelli said, without mentioning the death of Canepa, who suffered from low platelet counts, brain hemorrhages and abdominal blood clots.
AstraZeneca could not be reached for comment.
Like many European countries, Italy briefly halted the AstraZeneca vaccination in March due to concerns about rare blood clotting problems, especially in young adults. Read more
It resumed it the following month with a recommendation that the product be used “preferably” for people over 60, after the European Medicines Regulatory Authority said the vaccine’s benefits outweighed the risks.
Several other European countries have also stopped giving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to people under a certain age, usually between 50 and 65. Read more
However, while Mario Draghi’s government has sought to ramp up the vaccination campaign, some Italian regions have launched “open days” where the AstraZeneca injection is given to people of any age from 18 and over.
These included young women who are considered to be the group most at risk of developing extremely rare blood clotting disorders.
Vaccination events, often held during evenings and weekends, were intended in part to prevent AstraZeneca doses from being wasted amid widespread reports of elderly people rejecting the product and canceling their vaccination appointments.
About 46% of people in Italy have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 23% have received a full vaccination, and the numbers are broadly in line with most other EU countries.
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