S. Korea reports 2nd COVID-19 vaccine-induced blood clotting case

South Korea has reported its second case of unusual blood clotting in a recipient of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, health authorities said Wednesday.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the man in his 30s was confirmed to have the very rare but serious side effect, called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, following inoculation on May 27.

The patient showed symptoms of a severe headache and nausea nine days after receiving the vaccine shot, the KDCA said.

He was later admitted to a hospital and diagnosed with the syndrome on Tuesday, it said.

Earlier, the rollout of vaccines manufactured by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University was temporarily halted due to the reports of blood clots in some European countries.

The authorities and the World Health Organization, however, advised that vaccinations be resumed, saying that the vaccine may be associated with blood clots in some very rare cases but its benefits outweigh the risk of possible side effects. (Yonhap)