An elderly man collapsed and died Sunday morning in New York, shortly after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, officials said Monday.
The man, who was in his 70s, fell while leaving the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan just 25 minutes after he was shot, New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said.
Security on the spot and the first responders rushed them in a few seconds, but the man, who has not yet been named, was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly afterwards.
It is currently unclear whether the man’s death is linked to the vaccine, with an ongoing investigation.
Adverse reactions to the vaccine are considered extremely rare, those few cases being most commonly related to an allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis.
“Initial indications are that the man had no allergic reaction to the vaccine,” Zucker said in his statement.
The man, who was about 70 years old, fell when he left the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan (above) just 25 minutes after he was shot.
Adverse reactions to the vaccine are considered extremely rare, with the few cases most commonly related to an allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis (photo file)
The man’s sudden collapse was followed by a mandatory 15-minute observation period, during which “he had no side effects or any suffering,” Zucker said.
The FDNY said the patient was taken to hospital by the elderly, just before 11:00 a.m. Sunday, where he died shortly after arrival.
The man’s identity has not yet been revealed by officials. It is also unclear what type of COVID-19 vaccine he received.
The Javits Center and Zucker’s office have not yet sent a DailyMail.com request for comment on the matter.
In his statement, Zucker stressed that he and other public health experts believe the vaccine “is safe and, along with continued vigilance, including wearing a mask and social distancing, will end this pandemic.”
“I encourage all eligible New Yorkers to get vaccinated,” Zucker continued.
The Javits Center opened as a mass vaccination site in January and is one of several in the New York City area. It was originally used as a field hospital after the coronavirus pandemic first hit last spring.
Nearly one million people in New York have been vaccinated so far, with 1.5 million people receiving the first doses statewide.
In the US, the daily number of people vaccinated now far exceeds the number infected, with the country averaging 1.3 million photos a day.
Almost 42 million doses have been administered so far in total.
At least one dose of vaccine was administered to 31,579,100 million people, representing 9.6% of the population.
Just over 9,147,000 Americans now receive both doses of the vaccine, representing 2.78 percent of the population.
The Javits Center opened as a mass vaccination site in January and is one of several in the New York City area.
Adverse reactions to the vaccine are considered extremely rare, those few cases being most commonly related to allergic reactions.
Although since the vaccine was launched in December, however, there have been a handful of unexplained deaths to date that have involved those who recently received a COVID vaccine.
Over the weekend, Virginia Minister Drene Keyes, 58, died less than a day after receiving a dose of Pfizer vaccine at a clinic in Warsaw on Friday and fell ill.
Officials said they did not know the cause of her death, any conditions that Keyes may have had and that could have contributed to it, and said there was no evidence to suggest her passing was linked to the vaccination.
“The initial indications are that the man had no allergic reaction to the vaccine,” Zucker said in his statement.
Similar to Sunday’s incident in New York, Keyes remained in the clinic 15 minutes after the shooting, as recommended, before returning to the clinic later that day.
She was rushed to VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital, where she died on Saturday.
“Preliminary findings indicate that the cause of death was not anaphylaxis, but it will take several weeks for additional information to become available,” said Warsaw Police Chief Joan Kent.
“We can confirm that the death occurred within hours of receiving the vaccine, but this is not evidence that he is related. We are currently investigating and do not yet know the cause of death. ‘
Kent continued: “Our thoughts are with the family at this heartbreaking time,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. The CDC continues to closely monitor the safety of all vaccines, and we are actively working with Virginia officials to fully investigate the situation.
Over the weekend, Virginia Minister Drene Keyes (right), 58, died less than a day after receiving a dose of Pfizer vaccine at a clinic in Warsaw on Friday and fell ill.
Similarly, in California last month, Tim Zook, a 60-year-old X-ray technologist at South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, died Jan. 7, two days after receiving his second dose. to shoot with Pfizer.
He had written on Facebook on the day of his vaccination that “he was never so happy to receive a blow before” and celebrates “complete vaccination.”
However, in a few hours, the father of the three would have suffered an apparent adverse reaction, telling his co-workers that he had a sharp pain in his stomach and that he had difficulty breathing.
After his symptoms worsened, his colleagues took him to the emergency room, where he was placed on a ventilator four hours after arrival.
The Orange County coroner said the cause of Zook’s death is currently inconclusive, and subsequent toxicological testing will take months. If there is a correlation with the vaccine, the office said it would notify the OC Health Care Agency.
In a statement to DailyMail.com at the time, a Pfizer spokesman said the company was aware of Zook’s death and was also investigating the matter.
Pfizer said: “Our immediate thoughts are with the grieving family. We closely monitor all these events and collect relevant information to share with global regulators.
“Based on ongoing safety analyzes by Pfizer, BioNTech and health authorities, BNT162b2 maintains a positive benefit-risk profile for the prevention of COVID-19 infections. Serious adverse events, including unrelated vaccine deaths, are unfortunately likely to occur at a rate similar to that of the general population.
Tim Zook (above with his wife Rochelle), a 60-year-old X-ray technologist at South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, died just two days after receiving his second dose of Pfizer jab
Moments after he was given the vaccine, Zook wrote on Facebook: “I’ve never been happy to shoot myself before. I am now fully vaccinated after receiving the second dose of Pfizer ‘
Zook’s wife, Rochelle Zook, told the Registry that her family “does not blame any pharmaceutical company.”
“My husband loved what he did,” she said. “He worked in hospitals for 36 and a half years. He believed in vaccines. I’m sure he’ll get that vaccine again and he wants the public to get it.
But when someone has symptoms 2 1/2 hours after the vaccine, this is a reaction. What else could have happened? We want the audience to know what happened to Tim, so he didn’t die in vain. Severe reactions are rare. In reality, COVID is a much more deadly force than the reactions to the potential vaccine itself.
The message is, be safe, get the vaccine – but officials need to do more research. We need to know the cause. Vaccines should be as safe as possible. Every life counts.
For the first time in three months on Sunday, the United States reported less than 100,000 new daily cases of COVID-19, with hospitalizations also falling as vaccine launches.
Just over 96,000 new cases and 1,474 deaths were reported nationwide on Sunday, according to a COVID Tracking Project report.
These latest figures have brought the US totals to over 26.99 million cases and 463,339 deaths so far.
Hospitalizations also fell by 81,439 inpatients since Sunday – the fourth day in a row by less than 90,000 after two months above this threshold.
