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DOH: 'No reason' to suspend COVID-19 vaccination after 1 reported death post-inoculation

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Kristine Sabillo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/03/12/20210306-san-juan-covid-vaccine-gc-20.jpg"/><figcaption>San Juan City launches its vaccination program as medical frontliners from the San Juan Medical Center get inoculated with the Sinovac vaccine at the Filoil Flying V Arena on March 6, 2021.<em> George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — Vaccination against COVID-19 will continue, the Department of Health on Wednesday said, following reports a health worker passed away after receiving the jab. </p><p>&quot;COVID-19 vaccines cannot cause COVID-19,&quot; DOH said, as it emphasized that a health worker who died after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine succumbed to the virus and not due to vaccination.</p><p>“Upon completion of the investigation following the 2019 WHO (World Health Organization) AEFI causality assessment methodology, the NAEFIC (National AEFI Committee) and RAEFIC (Regional AEFI Committee) concluded that the cause of the death was caused by COVID-19 itself, not by the COVID-19 vaccine,” the DOH said.</p><p>DOH said the health worker who died on March 13 &quot;tested positive for COVID 19.&quot;</p><p>This is the first death after vaccination reported by the DOH. Last week, the DOH said the vaccine mostly registered minor side effects. The only serious adverse events recorded as of last week were difficulty of breathing and chest paints.</p><p>Over 240,000 health workers in the Philippines have already been vaccinated against COVID-19 more than two weeks after the vaccines arrived in the country.</p><p>Experts have repeatedly explained that while adverse events following vaccination may be observed, a large number of them may not be actually caused by the vaccination. This is why investigation is done by expert panels to prove the cause.</p><p>The DOH explained that vaccines “are only one part of the solution in bringing the COVID-19 pandemic to an end.”</p><p>“Even with vaccines, people must continue with the important prevention measures already in place: wearing masks, maintaining physical distancing, washing hands frequently, and avoiding crowded places and settings,” it said. </p><p>Despite the reported death, the DOH and the Food and Drug Administration said health workers must still be vaccinated, especially with the surge in COVID-19 cases in the country.</p><p>“Millions of people around the world have received this vaccine, and evidence continues to show that the benefit of vaccination outweighs the risk of severe disease and death caused by COVID-19,” the institutions said.</p><p>Philippines&#x27; COVID-19 infections is at its peak anew, DOH earlier said, noting the rise of clustered infections from households and workplaces. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/17/21/philippines-covid-19-outbreak-pandemic-peak-march-2021-like-july-2020-says-doh">Back to July level: COVID-19 cases peak anew, infection clusters in households, workplaces</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1641591" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>Vaccination against COVID-19 will continue, the Department of Health on Wednesday said, following reports a health worker passed away after receiving the jab. <br /> </p>

Vaccination against COVID-19 will continue, the Department of Health on Wednesday said, following reports a health worker passed away after receiving the jab.

DOH: 'No reason' to suspend COVID-19 vaccination after 1 reported death post-inoculation

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DOH: 'No reason' to suspend COVID-19 vaccination after 1 reported death post-inoculation

Kristine Sabillo,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 17, 2021 03:55 PM PHT

|

Updated March 18, 2021 06:26 PM PHT

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COVID-19 death

COVID-19 vaccine

COVID-19 vaccination

adverse event following immunization

Department of Health

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