A man who died 13 days after being given a Covid-19 vaccine suffered from a chronic illness and it was not a consequence of the inoculation, a senior health official said on Friday.
At a press conference at the Public Health Ministry in Nonthaburi province, Dr Tawee Chotpitayasunondh, of the National Communicable Disease Committee, said the dead patient was male.
He confirmed earlier reports the man had an aortic aneurysm and had undergone surgery to treat the illness at a hospital in late January. The patient remained in the hospital for about 40 days before being discharged. A week after his discharge, his condition was normal, Dr Tawee said.
The patient was aware he was at Covid-19 risk because of his chronic illness, and sought and received a Covid-19 vaccine shot on March 3.
The man suffered no immediate reaction.
The patient reported he was well on days 1 and 3 after the inoculation. On day 7, officials could not contact him.
On days 8 and 9, the patient suffered chest congestion and dizziness and fainted.
He was admitted to a hospital. His condition deteriorated and he died on day 13.
"Doctors concluded that his death resulted from a ruptured abdominal aneurysm, which was his chronic illness.
"It was like a time bomb buried in the body. This should not have anything to do with the inoculation, which only coincidently happened about 10 days previously," Dr Tawee said.
Earlier on Friday, media quoted Dr Sophon Iamsirithaworn, deputy director-general of the Department of Disease Control, as saying a recipient of Covid-19 vaccine had died about 10 days later of an aortic aneurysm.
The patient had suffered from a chronic illness since birth and required continual treatment.
The person had undergone surgery, but the illness escalated and was the cause of the patient's death, he said.
