Authorities: Death in HK attributed to heart attack, no link to Sinovac vaccine
The Hong Kong Health Department said there is no direct causal link between the death of a 63-year-old man and the Covid-19 vaccine he received two days earlier.
The department said this is the preliminary assessment of its expert committee that convened an emergency meeting on the matter yesterday. However, a full autopsy report is still needed to reach a final conclusion...
The Hong Kong Health Department said there is no direct causal link between the death of a 63-year-old man and the Covid-19 vaccine he received two days earlier.
The department said this is the preliminary assessment of its expert committee that convened an emergency meeting on the matter yesterday. However, a full autopsy report is still needed to reach a final conclusion.
Based on preliminary information, the committee said the man had suffered a heart attack that led to respiratory failure.
"Based on available data, there is no particular safety concern detected from the CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine.
"According to the product information of the vaccine, patients with uncontrolled severe chronic diseases should not receive the vaccine.
"Patients with severe chronic illness should use the vaccine with caution; if necessary, delay vaccination after doctor's assessment," the department said in a statement yesterday.
A day earlier, Reuters said that the man received a Covid-19 vaccine on Feb 26 and died two days later, quoting the Health Department saying that he had developed breathing difficulties.
In the latest update, the department said the man admitted himself to a hospital on the morning of Feb 28 after suffering acute shortness of breath with a cough. His condition deteriorated rapidly, and he died on the same morning.
"According to the hospital authority, the patient was a heavy smoker, had a history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity and suspected ischemic heart disease […]
"The preliminary information of autopsy revealed that the patient had serious coronary heart disease which led to acute myocardial infarction and pulmonary oedema and thus resulted in respiratory failure before passing away.
"The expert committee reviewed the case with all available information during the meeting. Having considered the medical conditions and history of the patient as well as relevant clinical data, available information related to the vaccine and preliminary autopsy findings, the expert committee conducted a causality assessment based on the algorithm of the World Health Organization (WHO).
"The expert committee considered that the patient's outcome was not directly associated with Covid-19 vaccination. However, the full autopsy report would be required for the expert committee to conclude the causality assessment," the department said.
The CoronaVac vaccine is produced by the China firm Sinovac. Malaysia's Pharmaniaga has procured 14 million doses of the vaccine in bulk to be bottled in Malaysia, 12 million of which would go to the government's national immunisation program.
Malaysia's drug control authority has already granted conditional approval for the vaccine, but additional approvals are still needed before vaccines filled-and-finished by Pharmaniaga is cleared for use in the country.
According to data compiled by the website Our World in Data, over 269 million Covid-19 vaccine doses of all types have been administered across the world.
While some deaths have occurred shortly after vaccination, follow-up investigations by local health authorities have found no causal link to the vaccines, and death rates among the vaccinated population are no higher than the general population.
"In each case, there's more to the story than meets the eye. Deutsche Welle reviewed several cases in Germany, Spain, the United States, Norway, Belgium, and Peru, finding that in all cases experts from multiple health authorities could not find causal links between the vaccination and deaths," the German broadcaster reported on its 'fact check' on deaths that occur shortly after vaccination.
