| A medical staffer draws AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine from a vial into a syringe at a nursing home in Seoul, Feb. 26. Yonhap |
By Lee Hyo-jin
Two Gyeonggi Province nursing home residents with pre-existing conditions died Wednesday after receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, leading the health authorities to investigate whether there was any correlation between their deaths and the vaccine.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said that the two residents of long-term care facilities ― one man in Goyang and the other in Pyeongtaek ― died some time after receiving their first shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine
The man at the Goyang nursing home, in his 50s, showed signs of cardiac arrest and associated breathing difficulties 11 hours after being vaccinated Tuesday morning. He received first aid on site, but died the next day due to heart failure. He had multiple pre-existing conditions including a cardiac disorder and diabetes, and had previously suffered from a stroke.
The man in Pyongtaek was a 63-year-old patient suffering from cerebrovascular disease who died four days following inoculation. After receiving his first injection Saturday afternoon, he began to show adverse reactions including a high fever and body aches the next day.
He was prescribed painkillers and a fever reducer, but was transferred to a general hospital Tuesday afternoon as his condition worsened. He died around 10 a.m., Wednesday after developing additional symptoms of sepsis and pneumonia.
“Along with the epidemiological investigation currently underway, we will thoroughly review their medical records to look into any connection between the deaths and the vaccine,” KDCA Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong said at a briefing the same day.
She noted hundreds of deaths after vaccination have been reported in other countries but no correlations between the vaccines and the deaths have been found.
| A medical worker at a nursing home receives a coronavirus vaccine from AstraZeneca at a public health center in Inje, Gangwon Province, Wednesday. Yonhap |
As of Tuesday, 87,428 people across the country have been vaccinated according to the KDCA. Among them, 85,904 got their first shots of the two-dose AstraZeneca vaccine, while 1,524 received their first shots of the Pfizer vaccine.
The KDCA noted that 207 abnormal reactions have been reported, most of which were minor such as headaches, fever, and vomiting. The overwhelming majority of cases ― 206 ― were reported after the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and among these three were anaphylactic shock reactions.
Of the 207 severe reactions were reported involving two nursing home residents in Gyeonggi Province, also with pre-existing health conditions.
A 50-something man at a nursing home in Uijeongbu showed symptoms of dysphasia (inarticulate speech), a headache and lethargy 20 minutes after being vaccinated. He had underlying conditions of high blood pressure and diabetes.
The other man, in his 60s with a history of cerebrovascular disease and who was hospitalized at a nursing home in Pyeongtaek, reported fever, low blood pressure and muscle pain a day after inoculation.
Both were transferred to local hospitals, and are currently stable.
Meanwhile, the health authorities warned of stern measures against “line cutters” in the nationwide vaccination program, after the owner of a nursing home in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, was found to have had his family members, who were not in the eligibility criteria, vaccinated.
He included his wife and also several board members of the hospital in the vaccination process for caregivers and medical workers, Feb. 26.
After conducting further investigation, the health authorities are considering filing a police complaint against him as well as taking administrative measures. Under the Infectious Disease Prevention Act, those accused of fraudulently receiving vaccination, and those involved in arranging this can be fine up to 2 million won ($1,780).