TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Monday (June 28) announced that 29 people have died after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine over the past three days, but no direct correlation between the vaccines and these deaths has been made.
At a press conference on Monday, CECC Spokesperson Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said that from June 26 to June 27, a total of 18,399 people were inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines, including 16,341 who received the AstraZeneca shot and 2,058 who were given the Moderna jab.
Adverse event statistics
A total of 1.926 million people in Taiwan have been vaccinated thus far, representing a coverage rate of 8.04 percent. Since June 26, there have been 98 adverse events reported, and among these, 29 deaths are suspected by the CECC to have been the result of these events.
Of the 98 adverse events, 27 were "non-serious adverse events," 42 were "suspected serious adverse events," and 29 were deaths "suspected of being caused by adverse events." Regarding the 29 deaths, 12 were women and 17 were men between the ages of 53 and 99 years of age, having occurred between the day of the shot and 11 days after.
Since COVID-19 vaccinations began in Taiwan, a total of 223 deaths have been reported following vaccination. This includes 108 women and 115 men between the ages of 41 and 101.
Among the 223 deaths, 176 were over the age of 75, with the deaths occurring between the day of the shot and 11 days after.
Autopsy results
Three of the deceased were men in their 50s.
Chuang said the first case had a history of stroke, heart disease, kidney dialysis, and diabetes. For the first eight days after vaccination, the man appeared to be functioning normally, but on the ninth day, family members were unable to wake him.
When paramedics arrived on the scene, he had no pulse and died before he reached the hospital.
Chuang said the second case had high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and a mental disorder. He died suddenly, four days after being vaccinated.
An autopsy found that the primary cause of death was gastric perforation, peritonitis, and paralytic intestinal obstruction.
Chuang said that the third case had a history of stroke and cardiovascular disease. He had three stents, had undergone bypass surgery, underwent kidney dialysis, and felt fatigued after undergoing the vaccination.
Three days later, he fell to the ground while in the bathroom and suddenly died.
Based on an autopsy, the cause of death was determined to be coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, stent obstruction, and 95 to 100 percent obstruction of three arteries.