Jab probe on ‘clot death’

A 48-YEAR-OLD Australian woman has died in intensive care after developing blood clots following a COVID vaccine.

Officials on Thursday night were scrambling to determine if the clots and death of the Lake Macquarie woman were linked to her vaccination, understood to have been the AstraZeneca jab.

NSW Health confirmed the death but said no link to the vaccine had been proven.

The woman, a diabetic but otherwise in good health, received the vaccination on April 9, the Daily Mail reported.

She died five days later in John Hunter Hospital after developing blood clotting.

That was a day after Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia had changed its advice to name Pfizer as the “preferred” vaccine for under 50s.

Denmark on Wednesday completely ceased using the AstraZeneca vaccine — the first European country to fully end the rollout.

Other European countries have suspended the jab for short time frames before returning with age restrictions.

The vaccine has been linked to a rare clotting syndrome, known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia.

The US, Canada and the EU have also paused the Johnson & Johnson vaccine amid clotting fears.

Reports of the death come after Mr Morrison demanded health authorities ramp back up to a war footing, admitting the failing vaccine rollout faced “serious challenges”.

The rollout has fallen well short of expectations, compounded by concerns about the AstraZeneca shot.

Mr Morrison said he would call on national cabinet to recommence regular meetings from Monday to “get the program back on track”.

On a visit to Geelong on Thursday, federal opposition health spokesman Mark Butler said mass vaccination centres like the one at Geelong’s former Ford factory, GP clinics and pharmacies must combine with support from the state government to speed up the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines

Mr Butler said he couldn’t see how to get to needed vaccine numbers “without utilising the sorts of things Barwon Health has put together at Ford all around the country”.

He said the federal government did not have enough deals with vaccine companies to ensure a smooth rollout and a deal for the “highly effective and adaptable” Moderna vaccine was needed.

“There is a concern we were just too late to the negotiating table,” Mr Butler said.

Pfizer is the government’s preferred vaccine for under 50s because of the onein-250,000 chance of developing a clot from AstraZeneca.