The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine remains safe, Canadian health authorities said, after a rare case of blood clotting affected a person who had been administered the shot.
The patient, who lives in the western province of Alberta and received a version of the AstraZeneca vaccine supplied by the Serum Institute of India, "has received treatment and is recovering," health authorities wrote on Twitter.
Canada reported its first case of blood clotting associated with low platelets on Tuesday in a Quebec woman who received the same shot.
Blood clot formations linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine "remain very rare" and Canada still believes that the vaccine's benefits "outweigh the potential risks," Health Canada and the Public Health Agency said.
Authorities said they would "continue to monitor the use of all #COVID19 vaccines closely and examine and assess any new safety concerns."
At the end of March Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunisation recommended suspending the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in people under the age of 55 while it evaluated the risks.
However Health Canada said on Wednesday, that according to its analysis, limiting the use of the vaccine to certain populations was not necessary for the moment.
After a slow start, Canada's vaccine campaign is gaining momentum. To date, 23.3 per cent of the Canadian population has received at least one vaccine dose according to the Covid-19 Tracker Canada website.
The country is facing a third coronavirus wave, however, that has recently forced provinces to tighten restrictions.
Ontario, which has the highest number of cases, announced on Friday it would strengthen and extend lockdown measures until May 19, and also close its borders with the provinces of Quebec and Manitoba beginning on Monday.
Canada has recorded more than 1.1 million cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic and more than 23,500 deaths.
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Gallery: Europe battles Covid-19
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Workers administer rapid antigen tests to high school students at the Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus Gymnasium high school in Dresden, Germany. Getty Images -
An illustration of a syringe is used to indicate the city's vaccination centre to pedestrians in Osnabrueck, Germany. AP Photo -
The vaccination centre at the Erfurt exhibition centre in Germany is deserted. After the suspension of AstraZeneca vaccinations, thousands of appointments were cancelled in Thuringia. AP Photo -
A person adds drops of a sample to the test device for a Covid-19 antigen rapid test in Berlin, Germany. AFP -
People walk down a crowded street in the Neukoelln neighbourhood of Berlin, Germany. AP Photo -
Dancers perform in front of the Theatre de l'Odeon in Paris, France. Workers have occupied the Theatre de l'Odeon since March 4 to protest against the French government's decision to close all theatres. Getty Images -
Hospital staff carry a Covid-19 patient at the Clinic du Millenaire, in Montpellier, France. EPA -
A healthcare worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at Paris 17th district city hall in Paris, France. Reuters -
Teresa Cabello, 88, waits in a seat before receiving a Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in Pamplona, northern Spain. AP Photo -
Taxi drivers stage a fake funeral for a taxi in a protest against the reduction of customers caused by restrictive measures aimed at stopping the spread of Covid-19 in the Campania Region in Naples, Italy. EPA -
Employees of the Lazio Region close the entrance of the new vaccination centre in Rome, Italy. AFP -
Customers makes purchases at an IKEA store in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Due to the lifting of some coronavirus restrictions, stores can receive a maximum of 50 customers per time slot instead of two. AFP
