Health authorities are investigating the case of a doctor in South Florida who died of a rare condition two weeks after receiving the first dose of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.
Dr. Michael, who served as OBGYN at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, for more than a decade, passed away on January 3rd. According to his wife Heidi Neckelmann, he was vaccinated on December 18.
Although there is currently no medical or scientific evidence to suggest that dr. Michael’s death was not caused by the vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention is conducting a routine investigation into the incident due to the short timeline between the two events.
“CDC, FDA and other federal agencies regularly review COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring data and provide this information to a working group of vaccine safety experts,” the organization said in a statement. “CDC will evaluate the situation as more information becomes available and stays informed of the known and all necessary actions.”
According to Neckelmann, dr. Michael began to experience strange symptoms several days after receiving the dose, including small spots on his hands and feet.
Eventually, he was admitted to the ICU with a diagnosis of acute idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a rare condition in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks self-fragments that occur in the blood, known as platelets. In adults, it can be chronic.
“Two days before the last operation, he suffered a hemorrhage caused by the lack of platelets that took his life within minutes,” Neckelmann wrote in a Facebook post.
Pfizer said the company was aware of the CDC’s investigation into the matter and said in part that officials were “actively investigating, but we do not currently believe there is a direct link to the vaccine.”
‘No related safety signals have been identified in our clinical trials, the post-marketing experience so far or with the mRNA vaccine platform. To date, millions of people have been vaccinated and we keep an eye on all adverse events in individuals receiving our vaccine. ”
“It is important to note that serious side effects, including non-vaccine-related deaths, will unfortunately occur at a similar rate as in the general population,” the company added.
According to Susan Wagner of the NBC News medical unit, ITP is a condition that can be genetic but can also be caused by certain medications. It was included in the list of medical conditions that scientists looked at during Pfizer’s clinical trials, and there were no cases in the vaccine group.
The Miami-Dade medical examiner said that the case of dr. Michael is currently still under investigation. “We have not yet explained the cause and manner of death,” a spokesman said.
Neckelmenn remains suspicious that the vaccine had something to do with the death of her husband. “He was a lawyer for vaccine, so he got it himself,” she said.
“I believe that people should be aware that side effects can occur, that it is not good for everyone, and in this case, destroyed a beautiful life, a perfect family, and affected so many people in the community, she added.
A study by the Institute for Vaccine Safety found that vaccines prevent far more cases of ITP than cause them, although the coronavirus vaccine was not yet developed when the research was published.
Mount Sinai Medical Center said in a statement that it could not confirm or deny the details of the case due to patient privacy legislation and HIPAA guidelines.
“To the extent that we are aware of an incident involving any patient, the appropriate agencies will be contacted immediately and we will cooperate fully,” the statement said.
The Florida Department of Health also said it is cooperating with the CDC and providing them with all the necessary information for the investigation.