An elderly Australian woman died a few hours after receiving a dose of COVID-19 vaccine – although it is unclear whether the jab played a role in her death, officials said.
The 82-year-old woman lived at the Yurana nursing home in Queensland and received the Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday at 10 a.m., News.com.au reported.
But less than three hours later, the woman died at home, the outlet reported.
It is not known if her death was caused by the vaccine because she suffered from underlying health problems.
Australian Medical Director Paul Kelly said “there are no signs of a causal link at this stage,” the Australian Associated Press reported.
“Older and more vulnerable people in an older care setting can be expected to die from the progression of the underlying disease or natural causes, this does not mean that the vaccine has contributed to this,” he said.
Health officials have repeatedly stressed that they believe the benefits of being shot outweigh the risks.
The death comes after officials announced Monday that at least 855,000 Australians have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine.
