Brazil halts AstraZeneca shots for pregnant women after death

Brazil’s health regulator said that the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot by pregnant women should be ‘immediately suspended’ as authorities investigate the reported death of a woman in Rio de Janeiro who had received it.

Brazil’s health regulator recommended officials stop giving AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 shots to pregnant women as authorities investigate the reported death of a woman in Rio de Janeiro who had received the vaccine. Anvisa, as the regulator is known, said that the use of the shot on pregnant women should be “immediately suspended,” according to a statement on its website late Monday. On Tuesday, the Health Ministry said in an emailed note that it was notified by Rio de Janeiro officials of the incident and is looking into the alleged death which was first reported by newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.