CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Health-7 yesterday confirmed that the health care worker who received a COVID-19 vaccine and died from coronavirus infection was not from Central Visayas.
“Based on our data, we do not have mortality from vaccination in Region 7… Most likely, the vaccination (in this case) happened in the workplace in Manila,” DOH-7 spokesperson Dr. Mary Jean Loreche told The FREEMAN in a text message last night.
Although not working in Central Visayas, the regional health agency is currently investigating whether the health care worker had residence in the region.
DOH earlier said that the worker who died after being vaccinated with Sinovac did not die due to the vaccine but due to COVID-19 infection.
Medical history
Dr. Rommel Lobo, vice chairman of the National Adverse Events Following Immunization Council, did not specifically mention where the health care worker came from.
But Lobo went on saying that the healthcare worker was a 47-year-old woman with a known history of hypertension and diabetes.
He said that the woman tested positive on February 22 but tested negative on February 23.
On March 4, she was vaccinated with Sinovac as she had no symptoms during screening and as declared in her health declaration form.
On March 8, 2021, she tested positive for the virus and was admitted to the hospital on March 10. She then died on March 13 due to COVID-19 infection.
Lobo said a patient can get COVID-19, especially in the early part of the infection.
He added that the COVID-19 vaccine does not cause COVID-19 because it’s an inactivated vaccine.
Lobo said that none of the vaccines used in the Philippines makes people sick with COVID-19. —JMD (FREEMAN)