An 89-year-old vaccinated against Corona — dead an hour later

In Germany, in the Diepholz district there was a death on Wednesday a short time after a Corona vaccination. An 89-year-old from a retirement home in Weyhe died about an hour after receiving the first vaccination. Whether there is a connection between the vaccination and the death of the elderly woman is now being examined, said District Administrator Cord Bockhop.

BREMEN

The Weser-Kurier, a daily that serves Bremen and Lower Saxony, reported that a 89-year-old was among a total of 315 people who were vaccinated with the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday in a total of three senior facilities in the district. Bockhop reported that the vaccination took place around 12 o’ clock. The vaccinated persons then remained under medical observation for 15 minutes. She was reported to have “no visible symptoms typical of allergies”.

“At about 12:45 p.m. the situation arose where the 89-year-old had to be revived,” continued Bockhop.

Two paramedics and two doctors were on site to accompany the vaccination team. In addition, an ambulance and the emergency doctor were alerted immediately. Nevertheless, the 89-year-old died about half an hour later.

The district was informed immediately, as well as the Paul Ehrlich Institute (as prescribed in such cases). The Paul Ehrlich Institute will now examine whether there is a connection between the vaccination and her death. “At the moment the only connection that is visible to us is the temporal connection,” emphasized Bockhop.

The 89-year-old was “generally fit” and “well oriented” at the time of the vaccination. She had been informed in advance and also telephoned a relative after the vaccination and reported that she had now also been vaccinated.

Due to data protection, the district cannot provide any information about previous illnesses or other health problems, Bockhop continued.

An autopsy of the 89-year-old has been ordered, added First District Councilor Jens-Hermann Kleine. As soon as results are available, they will be announced, Bockhop stated. However, he could not say when that would happen. “That is beyond our sphere of influence.”

The vaccinations in the district will however continue on Thursday, the district administrator announced. “Nothing has changed about the need for vaccinations,” he said. Nor in the quality of the vaccine or the vaccination team.

He expressed his condolences to the relatives of the 89-year-old. “We mustn’t forget that this is about people, not just numbers.”