The Hong Kong government has denied any causal link between COVID-19 vaccination and 115 reported deaths that occurred within 14 days of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
The government released the vaccination surveillance report on June 29, acknowledging that in the week ending June 26, the Hong Kong Department of Health had received 44 reports of vaccinated citizens experiencing abnormal health conditions after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. Two individuals, a 74-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man, died within 14 days of being vaccinated. However, the report said there was no clinical evidence to prove that the abnormal reactions and deaths were caused by the vaccines.
During the same period, a 10-year-old boy experienced chest pain a day after receiving the BioNTech, Pfizer vaccine. He is suspected of having myocarditis or pericarditis, the report says, adding that the boy is currently in stable condition.
As of 8 p.m. June 26, 7,734 abnormalities after COVID-19 vaccination have been reported to the Hong Kong Department of Health, and 115 deaths within 14 days of receiving a COVID-19 vaccination since the start of the pandemic.
So far, the Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment has concluded that 72 deaths have no causal relationship with vaccination, and one case remains undetermined. The remaining 31 cases are still pending further assessment. The expert committee believes that no unusual phenomena have been found so far, and will continue to closely monitor the situation and collect data for assessment.
In May, Hong Kong’s Indemnity Fund for Adverse Events Following Immunization With COVID-19 Vaccines approved a compensation case for the first time. A family was awarded HK$2 million (about $255,000) in compensation over the death of a 66-year-old woman who received the BioNTech Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. The cause of death was found to be myocarditis.
However, the Expert Committee assessed the causal relationship between the case and vaccination to be uncertain.
