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Paris prosecutors specializing in health-related investigations have opened an involuntary manslaughter probe into three deaths that occurred following Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccinations, AFP reported on Wednesday. They are taking over and combining three investigations from local prosecutors that began on a regional level following complaints from the families of the deceased.
The prosecutors have not charged any entity or individual.
Etienne Boittin, the lawyer who brought the complaints to the authorities, told AFP on Wednesday that he “first went to local prosecutors for the sake of speed and to have autopsies and then asked them to transfer the file to Paris.”
One of the cases involved in the probe concerns a medical student who died in Nantes, and another concerns a social worker from Toulouse. Both died as a result of blood clots while under the age of 55, the minimum age set by France last month to receive the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
Boittin said that he has been handling 15 cases of people who died after receiving the jab in France. No direct link has been established between the vaccinations and these specific deaths, even though the European Medicines Agency (EMA) confirmed on April 7 an association between the vaccine and rare cases of blood-clotting disorders. The EMA emphasizes that the benefits of taking the vaccine far exceed the risks, and increase with age and infection rates.
Like France, many European countries have restricted the jab to older people, with Denmark opting to stop its use entirely.
AstraZeneca did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jillian Deutsch contributed reporting.
This article is part of POLITICO’s premium policy service: Pro Health Care. From drug pricing, EMA, vaccines, pharma and more, our specialized journalists keep you on top of the topics driving the health care policy agenda. Email [email protected] for a complimentary trial.
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