Indian Medical Officer Killed After Being Injected With The COVID-19 Vaccine, This Is An Explanation

Vaccine illustration (Source: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Indian medic Mahipal Singh has died after receiving the first injection of the COVID-19 vaccine at a northern India public hospital. This is the first recorded death since the vaccination program was launched by the country's government last Saturday.

The 46-year-old man died within 24 hours of receiving a dose of the Covishield vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India and developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. As quoted by Anadolu Agency, Moradabad, head of the hospital in the state of Uttar Pradesh reported that Singh initially experienced symptoms of a heart attack and shortness of breath.

He was given medical attention on Sunday, but his life was not saved. "We have not received other complaints except minor adverse events such as fever and headaches. We are still looking for the cause," said Doctor MC Garg.

Garg said as many as 479 people had been immunized at the hospital. "He was a little unwell before receiving the injection, then his condition worsened after being given the dose on Saturday. Then took him to the hospital," a family member of Singh was quoted as saying by local Indian media.

The cause

According to a postmortem report conducted by the hospital, the cause of death was that Singh was in cardiogenic shock due to cardiopulmonary disease. The report noted clotted blood was seen in the main arteries and chambers of the heart.

"Death from cardiogenic shock or septicemia due to underlying cardiopulmonary disease," wrote the hospital report.

As of Sunday 17 January, the Ministry of Health confirmed 447 adverse events after vaccination. Of these, there are three people who must be hospitalized.

As is known, as many as 224,301 Indian health workers have been inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine in the first two days. This is the first time that the number of COVID-19 cases has fallen below 15,000 since mid-June.