MOH Says Not In Its Interest To Hide Vaccine-Related Adverse Events
With 80% of Singapore’s population fully vaccinated, we’ve reached a milestone in our fight against Covid-19.
However, some may still be holding out on getting jabbed because they’re concerned over the potential side effects of vaccines and rumoured deaths.
To that end, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has said that there have been zero deaths linked to vaccination in Singapore.
However, some people have passed away due to “concurrent medical conditions” that are not related to their vaccinations, the ministry said.
MOH statement clear, no deaths found
MOH’s statement, reported by Channel NewsAsia (CNA), was unequivocal in saying,
To date, there have not been any deaths found to be directly linked to vaccination.
However, it also said “there have been deaths” due to “concurrent medical conditions unrelated to vaccination”.
While the ministry didn’t elaborate on the details of these deaths, they were responding to a netizen’s claim on Facebook.
Netizen claims of 3 deaths after vaccination
On Thursday (2 Sep), a Ms Iris Koh posted on Facebook, claiming that she personally knows of 3 people who passed away after their vaccinations.
She also said that other people had told her that they knew somebody who coincidentally passed away, after getting vaccinated.
Ms Koh then pointed to a graph posted on the HardwareZone forum, which purported to show Singapore’s death figures from 2018-2021, with 1 line representing each year.
In the graph, which supposedly takes its data from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA), the line for 2021 ends in Jun.
But it appears to show a rise in the number of deaths from Mar-Jun 2021, compared with previous years.
Based on this, Ms Koh asked the authorities to explain the sudden spike in deaths.
Post-vaccination adverse effects carefully evaluated: MOH
MOH explained the procedure that takes place when an adverse event occurs after somebody is vaccinated, according to CNA.
First, they will “carefully evaluate the circumstances”.
Then, they will ask experts whether, in their opinion, the adverse event could plausibly be linked to the vaccination.
If a death takes place, MOH will also defer to the coroner, they added.
The coroner will adjudicate and determine the cause of death, based on what he finds during the autopsy.
Not in MOH’s interest to hide adverse effects
MOH also said that it’s not in their interest, nor the Health Sciences Authority’s (HSA’s), to hide cases of adverse effects.
They pointed out that the vaccines are “still only provisionally approved” by the HSA.
Thus, as a responsible healthcare regulatory authority, they have an important job to find out whether all adverse effects and deaths reported are linked to vaccination or not.
Woman’s death in Jul due to heart & artery issues
To be sure, Ms Koh isn’t the only one who’s concerned that the vaccines may lead to death.
On 31 Jul, another woman posted on Facebook that her mother had passed away about 8 hours after she got her 1st dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
However, MOH clarified that the 64-year-old lady’s demise was caused by hypertensive heart disease and coronary artery disease.
Woman Who Collapsed After Taking 1st Vaccine Dose Passed Away From Heart Disease: MOH
The ministry also said that given there’s a large number of vaccinations daily, coincidental cases of stroke and heart attacks after vaccination will occur.
Despite that, there continue to be concerns over the side effects of vaccines.
9,403 reports of suspected vaccine adverse effects
On 16 Aug, the HSA issued a safety update saying that as of end-Jul, there have been 9,403 submitted reports of suspected adverse effects associated with Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Of these, 389 reports were serious.
For the Sinovac vaccine, administered under the Special Access Route, 47 adverse effects were reported, including 4 serious ones.
A weighty decision
While it’s understandable that people are concerned over what’s being put inside their bodies, every medical procedure comes with risks.
Those considering getting vaccinated will have to weigh the possible side effects against another possible risk: that of getting infected with Covid-19 and falling seriously ill or dying.
That personal decision will ultimately help you decide whether the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risk or not.
Hopefully, those who’ve experienced adverse side effects will recover soon. Our condolences also go to the loved ones of those who’ve passed away, whatever the cause.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook.
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