38-year-old woman dead day after AstraZeneca shot: youngest in New Taipei City
A 38-year-old woman who died the day after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19 has become the youngest post-vax death reported in New Taipei City, and the first under 40 years old.
The resident of Xizhi District, who did not have any relevant medical history or chronic diseases, suffered body aches, headaches, and fever before her death the day after being vaccinated on August 5, according to New Taipei City Health Department.
The New Taipei City Health Department said that the woman’s family had concerns about the case and reported to the health department, who in turn notified the CDC via the vaccine adverse effects reporting system.
The case was one of two fatal cases in New Taipei City added to the VAERS August 8. The second case was an 84-year-old woman in Sanxia District who developed vomiting, fever, and general weakness the day after being injected with AstraZeneca June 17. The elderly woman had a medical history of diabetes and high blood pressure, was hospitalized on June 18, and died on July 17.
According to the New Taipei City Health Bureau, there have been 119 fatal cases in the city added to the vaccine adverse events system as of August 8, 2021. 102 of the cases had received the AstraZeneca shot, and 17 had been vaccinated with Moderna.
Vaccine Safety Association urges public to report adverse events
The Taiwan Vaccine Safety Supervision Association urged the public to report vaccine adverse events, and to apply for vaccine victim relief if a suspected adverse event occurs after vaccination.
The Taiwan Vaccine Safety Supervision Association made the call in a Facebook post published August 3 after the Central Epidemic Command Center reported that a total of 4,468 post-vaccine adverse events had been reported to date, including 1,968 serious adverse events, and 556 fatal cases.
The vaccine safety group said that it is really difficult to get a just result in the end, which is why some victims are unwilling to apply for relief. However, if everyone thinks this way, not only will individuals not get justice, but every victim’s family will also lose their chance for justice, TVSSA said.
The association said that it is not troublesome to apply for vaccine victim relief. Family members of victims can fill out a form, attach a medical certificate and other data and autopsy results will be taken care of by the government. Results of tests will be released in around 6 months and even if it is determined that a death is not related to the vaccine, the government will still pay a funeral subsidy of NT$300,000.
Although the NT$300,000 cannot compensate for the loss of a life, the report will be on the permanent record for vaccine safety, the association said.
Taiwan English News is an independent publication with no corporate funding. If you found this article informative, and would like to support my work, please buy me a coffee or support me on Patreon. Subscribe to Taiwan English News for free to receive the latest news via email. Advertising queries are welcome. Share, like, comment below.