A California resident died hours after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
“There are multiple local, state, and federal agencies actively investigating this case; any reports surrounding the cause of death are premature, pending the outcome of the investigation. Our thoughts are with the family of the deceased,” the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
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The county was recently notified of the person’s death, which is still under investigation. Police said the patient tested positive for COVID-19 in December and was then vaccinated hours before their death on Jan. 21.
Police did not say which version of the coronavirus vaccine the person received, and they are scheduled for an autopsy on Monday.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for two COVID-19 vaccines, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determining that data from two clinical trials indicated that “known and potential benefits of this vaccine outweigh the known and potential harms of becoming infected with the coronavirus disease.”
A January WebMD report noted that while severe reactions to either COVID-19 vaccine are rare, cases of such reactions have been on the rise as the vaccine distribution increases. The CDC reported just 29 severe reactions at a rate of 11.1 cases per million doses, slightly more than the flu vaccine.
“Their risk from COVID and poor outcomes is still more than the risk of a severe outcome from the vaccine,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization. “And fortunately, we know how to treat anaphylaxis.”
