ARCHIVED - Government confirms Spanish soldier died of AstraZenca-related thrombosis
The Spanish government has confirmed that a 35-year-old soldier who died in Navarra in April after receiving his vaccine had suffered a thrombosis caused by the AstraZeneca jab.
Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, said that medical reports had found that Corporal Francisco Perez’s death was due to a thrombosis caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine.
She said: “In the medical reports that they have given us, it seems that there is no doubt that the cause was the administration of the vaccine.”
Corporal Perez had been stationed at the Aizoain barracks, in Navarra. He died on April 24, 17 days after receiving his jab.
Minister Robles visited Aizoain to offer her condolences on behalf of the government to the soldier’s family, including his pregnant widow.
Despite confirming the link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and Perez’s death, the minister encouraged others to continue receiving the jab.
She said: “It has been very hard news but at the same time it is important that people get vaccinated.”
Spain’s government had previously suspended the AstraZeneca vaccine over concerns over thrombosis but is now administering the jab to 60 to 69-year-olds.
At the moment no decision has been taken about whether to administer a second dose to the tens of thousands of essential workers under the age of 60 who were given a first dose of the vaccine before the problem relating to the thrombosis side-effects became apparent.
Although the EMA maintains that the vaccine is safe, the Spanish government is waiting for the results of research carried out by the Instituto Carlos III in Madrid before deciding whether to administer a second AstraZeneca dose or whether to substitute the second dose with the Pfizer vaccine or the Janssen.