Fourth Person Dies Days After Getting Sinovac Jab

Health authorities have confirmed that a 70-year-old woman has died, nine days after receiving the mainland-produced Sinovac coronavirus vaccine.

She is the fourth person in the SAR to die after receiving the Sinovac vaccine, since the city’s inoculation drive against Covid-19 started on February 26.

In a statement, the Department of Health said the woman had a history of high blood pressure and had osteoarthritis in her knee. She had shortness of breath on Thursday morning and collapsed at home around noon, and was admitted to Kwong Wah Hospital.

The department said she did not respond to resuscitation and passed away in the afternoon.

A family member told authorities she had received the Sinovac jab on March 2, at the Kowloon Bay Sports Centre Community Vaccination Centre.

An expert committee has already concluded that a 63-year-old man who died two days after he had taken the vaccine on February 26, likely died of a heart attack and his death had no direct link to the jab.

It also concluded that the death of a 55-year-old woman on March 6 was not directly linked to the vaccine.

The experts are awaiting a detailed autopsy report of a 71-year-old man who died in the early hours of March 8, after he received the Sinovac vaccine at a private clinic.

The Department of Health said it would provide all available information on the 70-year-old woman to the expert committee, to assess whether her death was linked to the vaccine.

It will also pass on details of a 67-year-old man who is in a critical condition in hospital.

The department said he was taken to Kwong Wah Hospital after suddenly collapsing at Mong Kok MTR station at around noon; his initial diagnosis was acute coronary syndrome.

The department said he got a Sinovac jab at a private clinic on March 2, and he has a history of diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia.