Health officials will review preliminary findings on Sunday in the case of a 32-year-old Hat Yai woman who died two weeks after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine.
Authorities will also seek permission from the family of the woman, who died on Thursday, to perform a post-mortem examination. X-ray results and samples will be sent for lab tests to find out the cause of death, said Dr Opas Kankawinpong, director-general of the Disease Control Department at the Ministry of Public Health.
The ministry has expressed its regrets at the woman’s passing, he said.
A Facebook user earlier posted a message about the death of the woman, 13 days after she received her first dose of Sinovac vaccine.
Local media reported that the woman, Narilin Angthong, was an assistant to a doctor at Hat Yai Hospital. Her body was sent to Wat Siribunnaram in Muang district of Yala for religious rites.
A panel at Hat Yai Hospital on adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) is currently reviewing the woman’s treatment records, along with the Songkhla and Yala provincial public health offices.
The three agencies will forward the information to a team of experts who will meet on Sunday to determine the cause of death, said Dr Opas.
Officials will also follow up the cases of others who received doses from the same lot of the Sinovac vaccine, particularly women of reproductive age.
The conclusions of the provincial AEFI panel will be forwarded to the national AEFI committee, which comprises medical experts in related fields, who will explain the case to the family of the woman and the public, said Dr Opas.
According to the investigation carried out by Hat Yai Hospital, the 32-year-old woman had no pre-existing health condition. She received the first dose of vaccine on May 14 at the hospital.
People who are vaccinated are monitored on site for 30 minutes, and the woman showed signs of abnormality during that time. The Mor Prom Line account used to follow up vaccine patients showed that on Day 1, she reported a headache and muscle pains.
On Day 7, she again reported a headache, fatigue and muscle weakness. On the morning of May 27, 13 days after being vaccinated, she collapsed and was sent to the Hat Yai Hospital emergency unit.
A doctor found her heart had suddenly stopped beating and CPR was performed, but she was later pronounced dead. The hospital said she had a pulmonary embolism, a sudden blockage in an artery carrying blood to the lungs.