The death of a 71-year-old monk who passed away one day after taking the AstraZeneca vaccine occurred because of an issue related to the chronic coronary artery disease he had and was not a side effect of the vaccine, according to Dr Chamni Chitriprasert, director of the Priest Hospital.
Dr Chamni said he had received unofficial information from the Police Hospital which showed that there were no traces of blood clots in his system before he died. Pra Kru Siripanya Medhi, assistant to the abbot of Wat Sampanthawong temple in Bangkok, had been a patient at the Priest Hospital for over 15 years.
Dr Chamni said the late monk had been suffered from diabetes, high blood pressure, a high level of fat and, in the latest devleopment, an enlarged heart. The late monk had gone to stay abroad last year and had not taken his medicine as he usually would.
“We don’t think that the vaccine is the cause of death in the case,” Dr Chamni told the press conference.
Pra Kru Siripanya Medhi was found dead in his monastic cloister on Thursday, one day after receiving a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine — a jab given to those aged over 60 years.
According to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), between the period of Feb 28 and April 1, a total of 166,243 people received the first jab of the Covid-19 vaccine, and 37,407 have had a second dose. Only four people developed severe and undesirable symptoms, which included a rash. All recovered after being given an antihistamine.
The CCSA also yesterday reported 10 cases of the South African variant among Thai returnees from Tanzania, the United Arab Emirates and Mozambique. Half of them were asymptomatic but the rest showed some symptoms. Most of those showing symptoms were male. Eight of the infected returnees tested positive on day one and the other two tested positive on day five, according to the spokesman for the CCSA, Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin.
The government yesterday also announced it would launch another app for the public to register for Covid-19 vaccinations. The smartphone app will be called “Health Wallet”. Government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri said the app would be used for Covid-19 vaccine registration. The Finance Ministry and Krungthai Bank will supervise the app and work closely with the Public Health Ministry, which will launch the “Mor Prom’’ phone app that allows people to book their Covid-19 vaccinations.
