Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed “tremendous confidence” in AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after the first reported death in Canada linked to the shot.
Speaking on a Canadian radio show, Trudeau expressed confidence in all the COVID-19 vaccines being used in Canada, including AstraZeneca’s, according to City News 1130.
“Every single vaccine that is being used in Canada has been approved as safe by Health Canada, and I have tremendous confidence in all vaccines including AstraZeneca. I got the AstraZeneca shot myself last week and didn’t even hesitate,” Trudeau told “The Rick Howe Show.”
Trudeau, who received his first shot of AstraZeneca’s vaccine last Friday, added that the risk of blood clots from COVID-19 are “much greater than the very, very rare but real risks of side effects from AstraZeneca.”
The remarks come after Canada’s public health agency reported that a 54-year-old woman in Quebec died after experiencing rare blood clotting. Her death is thought to be the first in Canada linked to a COVID-19 vaccination.
The Canadian health agency said the woman experienced “thrombosis with thrombocytopenia with unusual blood clots with low platelets following vaccination with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine,” according to Canadian news outlet Global News.
Health officials are “gathering additional information on this case,” according to Global News, and details “will be considered as part of ongoing monitoring of the risk of rare blood clots with low platelets following immunization with the AstraZeneca and COVISHIELD vaccines.”
Reuters reported that the woman, Francine Boyer, had received a shot on April 9 and died on April 23 at a health facility where she was treated for fatigue and headaches.
The Hill has reached out to the Canadian health agency for comment.
Public trust in AstraZeneca’s vaccine has declined over the past several months amid blood clotting incidents linked to the vaccine in other countries.
A handful of European countries temporarily stopped using the vaccine amid reports of the rare blood clotting, though some have resumed use.