Miami medical examiners investigate death of doctor who received coronavirus vaccine



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The Miami-Dade County medical examiner is investigating the death of a doctor weeks after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, according to Darren Caprara, director of operations at the medical examiner’s office.

Caprara said her office was working with the Florida Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate the death of Dr. Gregory Michael. His death has not been definitively linked to the vaccine, but it is among the possibilities explored, added Caprara.

According to Michael’s website, he was an obstetrician / gynecologist “in private practice at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach for the past 15 years.” He was 56, according to public records.

Caprara said Michael received a vaccine around December 19 and died “late January 3-4”. An autopsy was performed on Tuesday, Caprara said, with the cause of death pending completion of studies by the medical examiner and partner agencies.

He did not disclose what vaccine Michael had received; however, only Pfizer had been offered outside of clinical trials the week Michael was vaccinated.

“Pfizer and BioNTech are aware of the death of a healthcare professional sixteen days after receiving a first dose” of the vaccine, Pfizer said in a statement. “This is a very unusual clinical case of severe thrombocytopenia, a condition that decreases the body’s ability to clot blood and stop internal bleeding,” he added.

“We are actively investigating this case, but at this time we do not believe there is a direct link to the vaccine,” the company said in the statement.

“No related safety signal has been identified in our clinical trials, post-marketing experience to date or with the mRNA vaccine platform. To date, millions of people have been vaccinated and we are closely monitoring all adverse events in people receiving our vaccine. It is important to note that serious adverse events, including deaths unrelated to the vaccine, are unfortunately likely to occur at a rate similar to that of the general population. “

CDC officials told reporters on Wednesday they had seen no worrying serious reactions to coronavirus vaccines beyond 29 cases of severe allergic reactions – or just 11.1 cases of anaphylaxis per 1 million doses administered.

“The known and potential benefits of current COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the known and potential risks, in getting COVID-19,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Vaccination and Respiratory Disease Center. “This does not mean, however, that we might not see possible serious health events in the future.”

According to the CDC, more than 5.3 million people have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.

“Our immediate thoughts are with the bereaved family,” Pfizer added.

CNN has asked the CDC and the United States Food and Drug Administration for comment.

Mount Sinai Medical Center said in a statement that due to medical confidentiality laws, it “cannot confirm or deny information about a patient. To the extent that we become aware of an incident involving a patient, the appropriate agencies are contacted immediately and have our full cooperation.

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