Man dies after jab, state says no link

● PRELIMINARY findings suggest that the death seems to be unrelated to vaccination, said Dr G. Srinivasa Rao, director of public health

Telangana state recorded its first death from among the recipients of the

Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday. The government, however, has said that the death was not caused by the vaccine.

A 42-year-old healthcare worker from Nirmal district, a 108 ambulance driver, died less than 18 hours after receiving the vaccine.

According to the state health department, the deceased was vaccinated at the Kuntala Primary Health Centre in Nirmal district on January 19 at about 11.30 am. “At about

2.30 am on 20.1.2021, he is said to have developed chest pain and was brought dead to the District Hospital, Nirmal, around 5.30 am,” Director of Public Health Dr G. Srinivasa Rao said in a statement on the death.

“Preliminary findings,” he said, “suggest that the death seems to be unrelated to vaccination.”

According to the Nirmal district medical officer Dr Dhanraj, the man died of cardiac arrest and the death was not related to vaccination. He said the cause of death could be determined only after conducting a post-mortem examination of the body.

Dr Srinivasa Rao said that as per the guidelines, after the postmortem examination, “the district Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) committee will submit its report to the state committee which will in turn furnish its report to the central AEFI committee.”

This is the third such death following the Covid-19 vaccinations that began in India on January 16. The first two fatalities, one each in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, were declared as not related to the vaccination by the Union health ministry.