Health Ministry to investigate death of woman following Sinovac jab

Health officials will carry out an autopsy on the body of a 23 year old woman who died days after receiving the Sinovac vaccine. Relatives of the deceased say she became ill after receiving the second dose of CoronaVac, the Covid-19 vaccine from Chinese manufacturer, Sinovac Biotech.

The Bangkok Post reports that the unnamed woman, who worked as a salesperson in the central province of Samut Sakhon, received the Sinovac vaccine at her place of work on April 21. According to family members, she fell ill the next day, with vomiting and a headache, and was admitted to a Pathum Thani hospital, north of Bangkok, later that day. She died the following day.

It’s understood the ministry has pledged to investigate the death, after the woman’s family spoke to the media yesterday. Relatives say they’re concerned her death may be related to the Sinovac jab. They say they have yet to receive any official explanation for the death.

Chawetsan Namwat from the Emergency Health Hazard and Disease Control Division, part of the Public Health Ministry, says it’s too soon to say if the woman’s death is linked to the vaccine, adding that the case is being investigated.

“We will perform an autopsy on her body to determine the true cause of her death. We have yet to find a death we could attribute to the vaccine. There is no need to suspend the roll-out as we strongly believe it can and will help to bring the outbreak under control. However, it is our duty to investigate and we will let the public know once the facts become clearer.”

He says autopsies performed on 2 others who died shortly after being inoculated found that their deaths were caused by pre-existing conditions. The autopsies ruled out the Sinovac vaccine as a cause of death in both cases.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post