TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese woman in her 60s died of a brain haemorrhage three days after receiving a vaccine against Pfizer coronavirus, the health ministry said on Tuesday, adding that there may be no connection between the two is not.
The woman was vaccinated on Friday and presumably suffered a brain haemorrhage three days later, Monday. It was the first reported death in Japan after a vaccination.
“The suspected brain haemorrhage is relatively common among people in their forties to sixty, and at this time, based on examples abroad, it does not appear to be a link between brain haemorrhages and the coronavirus vaccine. not, “said Tomohiro Morio, a doctor advising the government.
“It may be coincidental, but more information is needed to make an assessment in future working groups.”
Pfizer officials in Japan were not immediately available for comment. Pfizer said in November that the effectiveness of the vaccine against age and ethnic groups is constant, and that there are no major side effects, a sign that the vaccine can be applied anywhere in the world.
Global health authorities have praised the rapid development of safe and effective COVID vaccines, but have warned people with serious underlying health conditions to seek medical advice first.
On February 17, Japan became the last member of the group of seven leading industrialized countries to begin vaccination.
It has so far received three consignments of vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
Japan officially approved Pfizer’s vaccine last month, the first such approval in the country, as it intensified efforts to tame infections in the run-up to the Summer Olympics.
(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Nick Macfie)