Japan reports first death directly linked to COVID-19 vaccine
Tomoko Otake
"In a first, a health ministry panel said that a causal link between the death of a 42-year-old woman in November and the COVID-19 vaccine shot she received prior to her death “cannot be denied.” | KYODO"
A health ministry panel said Friday that a causal link between the November death of a 42-year-old woman and the COVID-19 vaccine shot preceding it “cannot be denied” — the first acknowledgement of such a link among nearly 2,000 reports so far of deaths following COVID-19 vaccinations in Japan.
The woman received a Pfizer shot targeting the omicron variant on Nov. 5 at a mass vaccination center. She felt sick seven minutes later, and her breathing stopped after about 15 minutes. Initially suspected to be having an anaphylactic shock, a doctor at the center performed CPR and tried to administer an adrenaline shot, but could not because IV access could not be obtained, according to a report submitted to the vaccine side effects committee under the ministry’s Health Sciences Council.
The woman was taken to a hospital but died of acute heart failure an hour and 40 minutes after receiving the COVID-19 shot. A postmortem CT scan showed that she had experienced acute pulmonary edema, a sudden buildup of fluid in the lungs, the report said.
The woman was obese and had high blood pressure and diabetes, the report added, noting that no autopsy was performed.
“From the data obtained from (CT) images, no abnormalities were found that could have caused the death other than the vaccine. All things considered, the direct causal link between the vaccination and the death cannot be denied,” the report said.
A total of 382 million shots have been administered in Japan since the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines began in February 2021. As of January, 1,963 deaths of those age 12 or older have been reported, including 1,751 (6.3 per million) following Pfizer vaccines, 211 (2.6 per million) after Moderna shots and one (3.7 per million) involving a Takeda-Novavax dose.
Except for the case of the 42-year-old woman, the ministry says a causal link between the shots and the deaths has not been established.
Tomoko Otake
"In a first, a health ministry panel said that a causal link between the death of a 42-year-old woman in November and the COVID-19 vaccine shot she received prior to her death “cannot be denied.” | KYODO"
A health ministry panel said Friday that a causal link between the November death of a 42-year-old woman and the COVID-19 vaccine shot preceding it “cannot be denied” — the first acknowledgement of such a link among nearly 2,000 reports so far of deaths following COVID-19 vaccinations in Japan.
The woman received a Pfizer shot targeting the omicron variant on Nov. 5 at a mass vaccination center. She felt sick seven minutes later, and her breathing stopped after about 15 minutes. Initially suspected to be having an anaphylactic shock, a doctor at the center performed CPR and tried to administer an adrenaline shot, but could not because IV access could not be obtained, according to a report submitted to the vaccine side effects committee under the ministry’s Health Sciences Council.
The woman was taken to a hospital but died of acute heart failure an hour and 40 minutes after receiving the COVID-19 shot. A postmortem CT scan showed that she had experienced acute pulmonary edema, a sudden buildup of fluid in the lungs, the report said.
The woman was obese and had high blood pressure and diabetes, the report added, noting that no autopsy was performed.
“From the data obtained from (CT) images, no abnormalities were found that could have caused the death other than the vaccine. All things considered, the direct causal link between the vaccination and the death cannot be denied,” the report said.
A total of 382 million shots have been administered in Japan since the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines began in February 2021. As of January, 1,963 deaths of those age 12 or older have been reported, including 1,751 (6.3 per million) following Pfizer vaccines, 211 (2.6 per million) after Moderna shots and one (3.7 per million) involving a Takeda-Novavax dose.
Except for the case of the 42-year-old woman, the ministry says a causal link between the shots and the deaths has not been established.
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Summary
First death linked to COVID-19 vaccine acknowledged in Japan, a 42-year-old woman who received a Pfizer shot in November died an hour and 40 minutes later due to acute heart failure following symptoms including sudden pulmonary edema. The health ministry panel found no other cause of death apart