New Brunswick is reporting the death of a person in their 50s who passed away due to blood clot complications after getting the COVID-19 AstraZenca vaccine.
According to the province, the person received the AstraZeneca vaccine in mid-April, and developed symptoms 17 days later. They went to an emergency room for treatment and were hospitalized.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health, said that the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine will not be changed. It will still be used in limited circumstances for first doses and second doses, Russell said at a COVID-19 briefing Friday.
On May, 5, a person in their 60s died after experiencing blood clots and low platelets after getting the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
There are 3,500 doses left and they expire on May 31. Those who got AstraZeneca for their first dose eight weeks ago can now get second doses.
“Because we know some people prefer it to one of the mRNA vaccines, we want to provide (AstraZeneca) as an option,” Russell said.
“For those who received the first dose of AstraZeneca, but do not want AstraZeneca as a second dose, we expect to receive direction from the federal government soon on using another brand of vaccine as a booster,” she added.
New cases
New Brunswick reported 15 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.
There’s one case in Zone 1 (Moncton region), which is under investigation. Nine cases are in Zone 3 (Fredericton region), five of which are contacts of previously confirmed cases, three are travel-related and one is under investigation.
There are four travel-related cases in Zone 6 (Bathurst region). Three of the four cases are isolating out of the province.
The one case in Zone 7 (Miramichi region) is a contact of a previously confirmed case.
Russell said that public health is closely monitoring the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the Fredericton area. So far contract tracing has been able to establish links between almost all of the confirmed cases in this cluster.
“As of now we are keeping Zone 3 at the Yellow alert level,” said Russell. “We have not imposed stricter measures because of how the virus is spreading, and not spreading, in the Fredericton area.”
The number of confirmed cases in New Brunswick is 2,113. Since Thursday, five people have recovered for a total of 1,942 recoveries.
There have been 43 deaths, and the number of active cases is 127. Seven patients are hospitalized in total. Six patients are hospitalized in New Brunswick, including two in an intensive care unit.
One patient is hospitalized out of province in an intensive care unit. On Thursday, 1,611 tests were conducted for a total of 321,482.
As of Friday, Health Minister Dorothy Shephard said at the COVID-19 briefing that more than 52 per cent of New Brunswickers aged 12 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The province also announced that all provincial parks and campgrounds are opening this Friday.
Confirmed case at Kids Korral Day Care in Fredericton
New Brunswick confirmed a positive case of COVID-19 at the Kids Korral Day Care in Fredericton on May 20, which has now been closed.
Public Health has directed that the children, staff, and their families, self-isolate for 72 hours while contact tracing is carried out.
“Families will be contacted directly with more information over the weekend,” said the province.