South Korea Investigating Deaths Of Two Long Term Care Patients Who Received AstraZeneca Vaccine - Forbes

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Topline

Health authorities in South Korea are investigating the deaths of two individuals in long-term care facilities both of whom died within days after receiving AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, a week after South Korea rolled out its vaccination program.

Key Facts

According to South Korean newswire Yonhap, one of the deceased was a 63-year-old nursing home resident with cerebrovascular disease, who died after showing symptoms of blood poisoning and pneumonia.

The other patient, who was in his 50s and had cardiac disorder and diabetes, died after showing symptoms of heart failure and difficulty in breathing, the report added.

Local health officials are yet to determine whether the patient suffered side effects from the vaccine or if the shots contributed to the deaths in any way, the report added.

Reuters confirmed that the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) was investigating the cause of the deaths but the agency did not comment on the details of the Yonhap report.

Big Number

85,904. That’s the total number of people in South Korea who have received their first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine as of Tuesday midnight, Reuters reported, citing the KDCA. Another 1,524 have received Pfizer shots.

Crucial Quote

"We believe that people may feel anxious about the vaccination after hearing of such fatalities, but no deaths have been confirmed to have a direct link with vaccines from AstraZeneca and Pfizer," KDCA chief Jeong Eun-Kyeong said. "People should not avoid inoculations."

Key Background

South Korea has managed to keep the total number of Covid-19 related fatalities below 2,000 as it moved to implement extensive testing, tracing and quarantine programs at the start of the pandemic. Last week, the country rolled out vaccinations and the KDCA has said that more than 2.1 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be supplied to South Korea by May under the World Health Organization-backed Covax initiative. Like with the disease, the KDCA has extensively kept track of the vaccination process and reported a total of 209 cases of vaccine side effects, most of which were minor symptoms such as a fever. There were three suspected instances of anaphylactoid reaction, similar to a serious allergic reaction after inoculation. But health authorities are yet to find a direct relationship between the vaccination and such severe adverse events. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention anaphylaxis after vaccination is rare and can be treated immediately and effectively if it occurs. The CDC also notes that it has seen no evidence of a Covid-19 vaccine causing a death.