RIO DE JANEIRO: Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and other Brazilian states on Tuesday suspended immunisation of pregnant women with the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine on the advice of the national health regulator after a reported death.

The daily newspaper Folha de S.Paulo said the health ministry was investigating the death of a woman in Rio de Janeiro who had received the vaccine.

The ministry did not confirm the report, but the Anvisa regulator late on Monday recommended the “immediate suspension” of AstraZeneca vaccines for pregnant women in line with its “constant monitoring of adverse events with anti-Covid vaccines used in the country.”

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2021