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Chief Medical Officer of Health – Dr Jennifer Russell – has confirmed the first case of blood clots related to the AstraZeneca vaccine. Russell says it involved a person in their thirties who received the vaccine prior to a recommendation from the National Advisory Committee on Immunizatiion to only give it to those 55 or over. She says the individual received treatment and has since recovered.

Russell says it is important to remember these blood clots are extremely rare – and – she says clinics will continue throughout the province for those over 55 while health officials continue to assess use of the vaccine based on “expert advice and an assessment of risks and benefits to residents.”

Meantime – Public Health says there are no new COVID cases in the province today. There are 139 active cases including 11 here in the Saint John region. Twenty-one people are in hospital – 8 of them in intensive care while the death toll remains at 33.