Hong Kong health authorities on Wednesday (3 Mar) revealed that the death of a 63-year-old man was not directly linked to the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine that he took two days before his passing.
The elderly man received his first dose of the vaccine at Kwun Chung Sports Centre in Jordan last Friday (26 Feb). He developed shortness of breath and was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Sunday.
The patient’s condition deteriorated rapidly. He died less than six hours after he was admitted to the hospital, as reported by Hong Kong Free Press.
The hospital’s deputy chief executive Johnny Chan on Tuesday (2 Mar) said that the medical personnel were not aware of the vaccination because they focused on treating his conditions at the time.
It was reported that the man had chronic bronchitis and no allergic reactions were detected during resuscitation attempts.
The hospital alerted the Department of Health about the death on Tuesday’s evening, said Mr Chan, adding that there was no evidence of the patient’s conditions being linked to the adverse side effects from the vaccine.
Professor Ivan Hung, a co-convenor of the committee assessing clinical events related to vaccines in Hong Kong, told the media on Wednesday that the committee members have concluded the man’s death was not directly related to the vaccine but most likely died of heart disease.
Prof Hung said the autopsy results indicated that the patient had central obesity and high blood pressure, and was suspected of having coronary heart disease, as reported by Global Times.
Noting that the committee will explain the cause of the man’s death in detail after receiving a comprehensive autopsy report, he said the vaccination plan will continue as planned given there is no evidence that the case was related to the vaccine.
S’pore received first batch of Sinovac vaccine but has yet to approve for use
Singapore received its first shipment of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine on 23 Feb, but the vaccine has yet to be approved for use in the country.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) noted that the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) is awaiting Sinovac’s submission of information for “a thorough scientific assessment” of the vaccine.
“Sinovac has started submitting initial data and HSA is currently awaiting Sinovac’s submission of all the necessary information in order to carry out a thorough scientific assessment of the manufacturing process, safety and efficacy of the vaccine under the Pandemic Special Access Route,” it stated.
The Chinese Embassy also took to its Facebook page assuring that the delivery of the vaccine will contribute to Singapore’s efforts to defeat the virus and restore “normal order of life” and economic development.
“The arrival of the vaccine delivered Chinese President Xi Jinping’s announcement to make Chinese vaccine a global public good, implemented the consensus made by the leaders of China and Singapore on strengthening cooperation against the epidemic, and added a new highlight to the bilateral cooperation,” it noted.
