MANILA, Philippines — The death of a local healthcare worker who recently received a vaccine for COVID-19 was caused by the coronavirus disease and not the vaccine, the Department of Health (DOH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Thursday.
The DOH and the FDA said that on March 15, “a death was reported in an individual who had received the COVID-19 vaccine and subsequently tested positive for COVID 19.”
They added that the Regional and National Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) committees were then activated to conduct an investigation of the case.
“Upon completion of the investigation following 2019 WHO (World Health Organization) AEFI causality assessment methodology, the NAEFIC, and RAEFIC concluded that the cause of the death was caused by COVID-19 itself, not by the COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19 vaccines cannot cause COVID-19,” the DOH and the FDA said in a joint statement.
In a Viber message, the DOH confirmed that the patient is “a healthcare worker who succumbed to COVID-19.” It has yet to reveal more details of the patient and his or her vaccination as of this posting.
“The DOH and FDA emphasize that vaccines are only one part of the solution in bringing the COVID-19 pandemic to an end. Even with vaccines, people must continue with the important prevention measures already in place: wearing masks, maintaining physical distancing, washing hands frequently, and avoiding crowded places and settings,” the health agencies said.
The DOH and FDA then encouraged health workers to get vaccinated especially with the surge of new COVID-19 infections.
“Millions of people around the world have received this vaccine, and evidence continues to show that the benefit of vaccination outweighs the risk of severe disease and death caused by COVID-19,” the health agencies said.
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