A diabetic man who received the Beijing-made Sinovac vaccine on the first day of the SAR’s inoculation program last Friday died two days later, with health authorities making the announcement last night after a two-day delay.
The man, 63, with diabetes and bronchitis received his first dose of Sinovac's CoronaVac jab at Kwun Chung Sports Centre in Jordan -- a private-run institution Virtus Care -- last Friday and two days later he developed acute shortness of breath and died on Sunday in hospital, the Department of Health announced last night.
Hospital Authority said the recipient headed to accident and emergency department of Queen Elizabeth Hospital last Sunday with shortness of breath.
He was diagnosed of bronchitis, with condition deteriorating quickly.
He soon fell into a coma and passed away at 6am. Sources said medics were not aware of the man’s
Covid-19
vaccine history upon his admission, and suspected he had contracted
Covid-19.
Only upon checking the clinical message system when they found out he had received the Sinovac
vaccine two days before his death.
The department’s statement last night did not explain the delay in its announcement and only said it was seeking more information on the man’s case from the Hospital Authority for investigation.
“So far it is uncertain (whether his death) is related to the
vaccine,” the statement said, adding his case will be passed to the Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment Following
Covid-19 Immunisation as soon as possible.
His death will also be passed to the Coroner’s Court. So far, 40,000 people have received the first dose of Sinovac shot, among 254,000 registered.