Vaccination Damage Investigation Team: "All 8 Deaths by the 6th Are Difficult to Recognize as Causally Related"

No Severe Adverse Reactions Among Same Vaccine Recipients
"Other Suspected Causes of Death That Could Lead to Fatality Confirmed"

Jung Eun-kyung, Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters (Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The COVID-19 Vaccination Injury Investigation Team has tentatively concluded that it is difficult to recognize a causal relationship between adverse reactions after vaccination and deaths reported up to the 6th.

Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters (Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency), announced at the regular COVID-19 briefing on the 8th that the Vaccination Injury Investigation Team held a meeting on the 7th and made this judgment regarding a total of eight death cases reported up to the 6th.

The investigation team judged that all eight cases under investigation “did not correspond to anaphylaxis, which can rapidly lead to death after vaccination,” and there were no severe adverse reaction cases among vaccine recipients with the same institution, date, and batch number, and the possibility of vaccine defects or errors in the vaccination process was low.

Furthermore, based on the data collected and analyzed so far, the investigation concluded that ▲there were no findings suggesting adverse reactions after vaccination at the time of death, ▲the possibility of death due to worsening underlying diseases such as cerebrovascular disease, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and epilepsy was high, and ▲other suspected causes of death such as cerebral hemorrhage, heart failure, myocardial infarction, sepsis, and acute hepatitis were identified, thus tentatively judging that it is difficult to recognize a causal relationship between adverse reactions after vaccination and death.

The investigation covered a total of eight cases, of which six were male and two were female. The age groups were ▲one in their 20s ▲one in their 40s ▲four in their 50s ▲two in their 60s, all of whom were hospitalized patients in nursing hospitals with underlying diseases.

However, since four of the cases under investigation are currently undergoing autopsy at the National Forensic Service, the investigation team plans to conduct additional evaluations after confirming the final autopsy results.

President Moon Jae-in and Jung Eun-kyeong, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, visited the Mapo-gu Public Health Center in Seoul on the 26th of last month, observing Dr. Kim Yoon-tae, a rehabilitation facility worker (Purme Nexus Children's Rehabilitation Hospital), receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team is also conducting epidemiological investigations with the relevant local governments on additional reported deaths and severe cases. The team plans to continue operating the Vaccination Injury Investigation Team regularly and to announce the evaluation results.

Following this, Head Jung Eun-kyung emphasized, “If severe allergic reactions such as anaphylaxis to COVID-19 vaccine components occur, vaccination should not be received,” and “Vaccination should be postponed if there are suspected infection symptoms, fever, or acute illness.” She also stated, “All vaccinated individuals need to stay at the vaccination site for 15 to 30 minutes after vaccination to monitor for adverse reactions such as anaphylaxis,” and urged, “Even after returning home, please observe carefully for more than three hours and pay special attention to your health for at least three days.”