DOH checking veracity of reports on health worker’s death after vaccine injection

CEBU CITY—The Department of Health (DOH) office in Central Visayas is still checking the veracity of reports that a health care worker died after getting injected with a coronavirus vaccine.

At an online briefing on Thursday (March 18), Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, DOH regional spokesperson, said the fatality was not from Cebu but another province in Central Visayas which she did not name.

It remained unclear whether the death was vaccine-related.

“The one you heard today that a health care worker died after vaccination, we still cannot confirm until we have the full report submitted to the office of the RESU or the Regional Epidemiological Surveillance Unit,” Loreche said.

“So in the meantime, let’s hold on that because we have not gotten hold of the exact data,” she added.

In a message sent through Viber, Loreche said she needed data from the local RESU before she can discuss what really happened.

Loreche said there were at least 202 cases of “Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI)”, official jargon for side effects, in Central Visayas but it was unclear if these had a direct link with usage of the vaccine.

Of the 202 reported side effect cases, 26.2 percent involved pain in the arm where the vaccine was injected, 15.8 percent involved development of rashes and 11.4 percent involved itchiness.

TSB