An Ontario man in his 60s who received the AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD vaccine is recovering after suffering a blood clot.
"We have confirmed the first case of the rare blood clotting condition known as vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia in Ontario," wrote Chief Medical Officer of Health Doctor David Williams in a statement Friday morning.
The man received treatment after getting his first shot of the vaccine.
It did not say where the man lives, just that "additional details will not be publicly released to protect the patient's privacy."
The case is the fourth in Canada out of over 1.1-million doses that have been administered so far.
After blood clots appeared in patients elsewhere in the world, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended the AstraZeneca shot only be given to those over the age of 55. However, with COVID-19 cases rising province-wide and mounting criticism with the pace of vaccination, Ontario and other provinces decided to offer it to residents 40-years and up this week.
Williams insists the vaccine is safe.
"While these serious reactions remain extremely rare, we have a robust process in place to monitor for any adverse events and have taken steps to ensure that these events are identified and treated as quickly as possible," continued the statement.
Health Canada has deemed the vaccine against COVID-19, and others, to be safe for use.