The recent death of a woman in Taipei County after receiving a vaccine for A(H1N1) influenza was unrelated to the inoculation because she died of coronary heart disease, the Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office said on Wednesday.
The 78-year-old woman received an immunization shot on Dec. 22 and died on Christmas Day. The Banciao District Prosecutors Office and the Institute of Forensic Medicine under the Ministry of Justice conducted an autopsy on Dec. 30.
The autopsy report, which was released on Tuesday, showed that the cause of death was coronary heart disease, “a natural death,” chief prosecutor Cheng Hsing-hung (鄭鑫宏) said.
PHOTO: CNA
The autopsy report shows that there was no analphylactic shock (a severe allergic reaction), infections or other complications, and the woman’s relatives had no objections to the autopsy report, Cheng said.
Cheng said the public should not panic and avoid the vaccines because of being misled by media reports.
Meanwhile, the autopsy of a 45-year-old man, who died two days after receiving the vaccine last month, failed to help officials determine whether the man’s death was related to the vaccine.
The Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office said the cause of death was choking on food, which may have resulted from medication the man had taken, but the possibility of post-vaccination nausea or vomiting could not be ruled out.
There was no proof of analphylactic shock, infections or other complications, the report said.
Since Taiwan began its vaccination program against the A(H1N1) virus last year, there have been 17 reported cases of people who died after receiving the vaccinations. Health authorities have not confirmed that any of the cases were caused by side effects from the vaccine.
Among the 17 deaths, no common clinical symptoms were found. Three cases have been proven to be unrelated to the vaccine, while the remaining 14 cases are awaiting further investigation, the report said.
The 17 deaths are among 168 cases of “suspected serious adverse events” following A(H1N1) vaccinations, a weekly monitoring report released by the Central Epidemic Command Center showed on Tuesday.
The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said that both Novartis and Adimmune Corp vaccines for A(H1N1) influenza were safe.
“These two vaccines were approved after clinical trials,” Kang Jaw-jou (康照洲), head of the DOH’s Food and Drug Administration told a press conference held by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊
瓔) at the legislature yesterday morning in answer to doubts raised about the safety of the vaccines.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Steve Kuo (郭旭崧) said that he would take responsibility if either vaccine was unsafe.
Meanwhile, CDC spokesman Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) said that supermodel Lin Chih-ling (林志玲) had been approached to help promote the vaccine.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JIMMY CHUANG
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS