Vaccine ruled out as cause of death in NorCal man who had COVID-19, officials say

PLACER COUNTY, California – Authorities determined that the coronavirus vaccine was not a contributing factor in the death of a northern California man earlier this month, authorities said on Saturday.

“Clinical examination and lab results determined that the COVID-19 vaccine was ruled out as a contributing factor in the individual’s death,” the Placer County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post.

Last week, the sheriff’s department reported that a man died hours after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, but did not specify which vaccine the person received.

RELATED: Stay up to date on all coronavirus related information

Authorities say the 64-year-old was employed as a health care worker at a facility in Placer County. He started complaining about the side effects within ten minutes of the vaccination, which led the sheriff’s department to inform the public of the investigation.

The department said on Saturday that throughout their investigation, they learned that not only was he recently diagnosed with COVID-19, but that he also had underlying health issues and was showing symptoms. disease at the time of vaccine administration.

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“We would also like to take this moment to sincerely apologize for some of our agency’s Facebook comments after first informing the community of this incident,” the Sheriff’s Department wrote on Facebook. “We realize how taken they were by the public, and it shouldn’t have happened.”

An investigation remains underway in Southern California after the death of an Orange County health worker four days after receiving his second dose of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine. The coroner said the cause of death for Tim Zook was inconclusive at this time and further toxicology tests would take months. Zook, 60, worked as an X-ray technologist at South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana.

RELATED: OC health worker dies after receiving second COVID-19 vaccine; official cause of death pending