California health care worker's death days after COVID-19 vaccine probed
The death of a man several days after receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is under investigation by the Orange County Coroner.
"After receiving all additional test results, we will use those findings along with autopsy findings to make a final determination into the cause and manner of death," the coroner's office said in a statement. "If it's determined there may be a correlation to the vaccine we will immediately notify the OC Health Care Agency."
Sgt. Dennis T. Breckner, a public information officer for the sheriff's department, said the investigation could take months.
The Orange County Register reported the deceased was 60-year-old Tim Zook, who experienced an adverse reaction hours after receiving a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine Jan. 5.
Zook, an X-ray technologist at South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, died shortly after midnight Jan. 7, the paper said.
Zook's wife, Rochelle, shared the story with the Register to get out the word that while a complete investigation into her husband's death is crucial, people should still get inoculated.
âWe are not blaming any pharmaceutical company,â said Rochelle. âMy husband loved what he did. He worked in hospitals for 36½ years. He believed in vaccines. Iâm sure he would take that vaccine again, and heâd want the public to take it.
âBut when someone gets symptoms 2½ hours after a vaccine, thatâs a reaction. What else could have happened? We would like the public to know what happened to Tim, so he didnât die in vain. Severe reactions are rare. In reality, COVID is a much more deadly force than reactions from the potential vaccine itself.
âThe message is, be safe, take the vaccine â but the officials need to do more research. We need to know the cause. The vaccines need to be as safe as possible. Every life matters.â
The news of Zook's death comes after Placer County Public Health said last week a man in the county died Jan. 21, several hours after receiving a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The unnamed man previously tested positive for the coronavirus in late December.
"There are multiple local, state, and federal agencies actively investigating this case; any reports surrounding the cause of death are premature, pending the outcome of the investigation," a statement from the sheriff's office said. "Our thoughts are with the family of the deceased."
Placer County Public Health and Human Services did not administer the vaccine in that case and could not comment on whether the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine was given.
Dr. John Swartzberg, a UC Berkeley professor and infectious disease doctor, cautioned against jumping to conclusions until the investigations into these two deaths are complete.
"We can't give people a real answer until we have the autopsy data and find out why they died," Swartzberg said. "Everything prior to that is speculation. Both the events are true, the question is are they related? Is it true true and related or true true and unrelated?"
Swartzberg said that in the vaccine trials there were no instances where the vaccine was found to cause death, and even if there were a connection between the vaccine and the death in these two recent situations, it's something we know occurs "only once in many, many millions, not even once in a million."
"As has been said from the beginning about vaccines in general, this is something that once we start immunizing hundreds of millions of people, when youâre talking about those numbers, there are going to be events like this that are going to happen," he said. "The risks are overwhelmingly in your favor to get vaccinated."
UCSF infectious disease doctor Dr. Peter Chin-Hong echoed this sentiment. "We always think about a risk benefit calculus. Your risk of dying is so much more if you don't get the vaccine," Chin-Hong said.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/amp/California-health-care-worker-vaccine-death-COVID-15902997.php
The death of a man several days after receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is under investigation by the Orange County Coroner.
"After receiving all additional test results, we will use those findings along with autopsy findings to make a final determination into the cause and manner of death," the coroner's office said in a statement. "If it's determined there may be a correlation to the vaccine we will immediately notify the OC Health Care Agency."
Sgt. Dennis T. Breckner, a public information officer for the sheriff's department, said the investigation could take months.
The Orange County Register reported the deceased was 60-year-old Tim Zook, who experienced an adverse reaction hours after receiving a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine Jan. 5.
Zook, an X-ray technologist at South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, died shortly after midnight Jan. 7, the paper said.
Zook's wife, Rochelle, shared the story with the Register to get out the word that while a complete investigation into her husband's death is crucial, people should still get inoculated.
âWe are not blaming any pharmaceutical company,â said Rochelle. âMy husband loved what he did. He worked in hospitals for 36½ years. He believed in vaccines. Iâm sure he would take that vaccine again, and heâd want the public to take it.
âBut when someone gets symptoms 2½ hours after a vaccine, thatâs a reaction. What else could have happened? We would like the public to know what happened to Tim, so he didnât die in vain. Severe reactions are rare. In reality, COVID is a much more deadly force than reactions from the potential vaccine itself.
âThe message is, be safe, take the vaccine â but the officials need to do more research. We need to know the cause. The vaccines need to be as safe as possible. Every life matters.â
The news of Zook's death comes after Placer County Public Health said last week a man in the county died Jan. 21, several hours after receiving a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The unnamed man previously tested positive for the coronavirus in late December.
"There are multiple local, state, and federal agencies actively investigating this case; any reports surrounding the cause of death are premature, pending the outcome of the investigation," a statement from the sheriff's office said. "Our thoughts are with the family of the deceased."
Placer County Public Health and Human Services did not administer the vaccine in that case and could not comment on whether the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine was given.
Dr. John Swartzberg, a UC Berkeley professor and infectious disease doctor, cautioned against jumping to conclusions until the investigations into these two deaths are complete.
"We can't give people a real answer until we have the autopsy data and find out why they died," Swartzberg said. "Everything prior to that is speculation. Both the events are true, the question is are they related? Is it true true and related or true true and unrelated?"
Swartzberg said that in the vaccine trials there were no instances where the vaccine was found to cause death, and even if there were a connection between the vaccine and the death in these two recent situations, it's something we know occurs "only once in many, many millions, not even once in a million."
"As has been said from the beginning about vaccines in general, this is something that once we start immunizing hundreds of millions of people, when youâre talking about those numbers, there are going to be events like this that are going to happen," he said. "The risks are overwhelmingly in your favor to get vaccinated."
UCSF infectious disease doctor Dr. Peter Chin-Hong echoed this sentiment. "We always think about a risk benefit calculus. Your risk of dying is so much more if you don't get the vaccine," Chin-Hong said.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/amp/California-health-care-worker-vaccine-death-COVID-15902997.php
