One of the big stories locally has been the revelation that a small number of aged care residents have passed away after receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations.
NewsCorp reports Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly confirmed these deaths in the health industry newsletter BioPharmaDispatch.
Professor Kelly revealed that a “handful” of residents had passed away within three days after they had received the vaccination, and that the deaths were being investigated by both the vaccination provider and Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
Professor Kelly says that he has examined these deaths, noting that many were suffering long and complex illnesses well before the vaccine had been administered.
“Each of them have another explanation, other than vaccine and none of them have had any sign of any adverse events, following the vaccine up until the time that they’ve been found to have passed away,” he added.
Putting things in perspective
Professor Kelly also pointed out that an average of 1,000 aged care residents pass away from natural causes every week, denying there was any attempt of a coverup.
“If there was any, any sniff, any suggestion that this was an event that was actually associated with a vaccine, or could possibly be associated with a vaccine in that initial investigation, then I would take it very seriously,” he added.
A complicated rollout – but it was always going to be
The TGA’s first weekly adverse report on the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine revealed 79 adverse events recorded in relation to the vaccination.
That’s from more than 33,700 doses given to frontline health workers, quarantine staff and aged care residents.
To put things in perspective, that is about 0.23%.
Adverse reactions could be defined as a number of things, with the most common reactions reported in the first week including feeling faint, dizziness, headaches, nausea and sweating.
Every death is a tragedy and we have to treat it as such.
But if the COVID-19 vaccine can help protect our families, then you would think it’s well worthwhile.
