Italy bans AstraZeneca vaccine for under-60s after teen dies

The Italian government has banned the use of the Covid-19 vaccine made by AstraZeneca for people under 60, in a reversal of policy prompted by the death of a 18-year old woman.

The about-turn on the use of the jab is said to have thrown the vaccination campaign into chaos, according to the Times.

Camilla Canepa, from Liguria, who was preparing for school exams, suffered a brain haemorrhage and abdominal blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. Italian newspaper, Corriere.it, reports that the 18-year old died from a cerebral hemorrhage 16 days after receiving the first jab on May 25th in the Genoese town.

“This is the result of the autopsy that was performed by the coroner Luca Tajana and the haematologist Franco Piovella. Now the consultants appointed by the prosecutor will have to continue with other tests including histological ones to clarify what was the reason or reasons that led to the death on 10 June,” they reported.

The paper said that reports that Ms Canepa suffered from an autoimmune disease needed to be examined, saying that if she was a “fragile case” she should not have received the vaccine, and may have been taking a hormonal medicine linked to clots.

Italian medical experts advised the government to halt use of the vaccine in under-60s pending further investigation.

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