Two Hong Kong residents died in recent days shortly after receiving doses of ‘CoronaVac,’ a Chinese coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by China’s state-run pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech.
“[A] 55-year-old woman … suffered from an acute stroke on March 5. She was admitted to Caritas Medical Centre for treatment and was later transferred to Kwong Wah Hospital for further treatment. Subsequently, she had cardiac arrest and after resuscitation she passed away early this morning,” the Hong Kong Department of Health said in a statement issued March 6.
“According to information provided by the deceased’s family member, she had received COVID-19 [coronavirus] vaccination at Kwun Chung Sports Centre Community Vaccination Centre in Jordan on March 2,” the bureau confirmed, adding that the deceased patient suffered from a history of chronic illness.
The Hong Kong health bureau said it has referred the woman’s case to the city’s “Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment” to determine whether her death was directly related to her receiving a CoronaVac dose in the days immediately preceding her passing.
Another Hong Kong resident died “within days of receiving the Sinovac vaccine,” according to local media reports Monday.
“[A] 71-year-old man was admitted to United Christian Hospital on Sunday night [March 7] after receiving the jab last Wednesday [March 3]. He died of a suspected heart attack,” Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported March 8.
Hong Kong health officials approved CoronaVac for emergency use in the city “after a decision by local authorities to waive a requirement for developers to publish its final-stage trial results in peer-reviewed medical journals,” according to HKFP, which noted “the China-developed Sinovac vaccine is not administered to persons aged 60 and over in mainland China.”
Full data released on January 12 found CoronaVac to be 50.38 percent effective against the Chinese coronavirus in late-stage trials.
“Sinovac’s CoronaVac efficacy rate still meets the 50 percent threshold the World Health Organization considers good enough for widespread use,” the Wall Street Journal noted of the vaccine candidate’s efficacy rate at the time.
At least two Hong Kong residents were admitted to intensive care units over the weekend after they were recently administered doses of CoronaVac, the Hong Kong health department confirmed.
“[A]n 80-year-old man … suffered from chest pain on March 6 and sought treatment at … Caritas Medical Centre. The patient did not respond well to treatment and was transferred to the ICU for further management on the same night,” the Hong Kong health bureau said in a statement issued March 7.
“The provisional diagnosis was acute coronary syndrome and he was in critical condition. According to the information, he received COVID-19 [CoronaVac] vaccination at Tin Fai Road Sports Centre Community Vaccination Centre, Yuen Long on March 1,” according to the statement.
In another case, a “72-year-old woman who … received COVID-19 [coronavirus] vaccination at Tseung Kwan O Sports Centre Community Vaccination Centre on March 6 … felt malaise after vaccination,” according to the health bureau.
The woman “was admitted to Prince of Wales Hospital and was found to have severe diabetic ketoacidosis and transferred to the ICU for further treatment” on the morning of March 7. The woman had reportedly skipped regular doses of insulin due to her post-CoronaVac “malaise.”
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