The Ministry of Health is investigating the case of a 13-year-old Region One boy who died yesterday, hours after he was administered the second dose of the COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The dead child has been identified as Joshua Henry, a resident of Moruca, Region One. He attended the Santa Rosa Secondary school.
Contacted last night, Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony told Stabroek News that the Ministry is aware of Henry’s death and an investigation has been launched.
In a subsequent statement, the Ministry said that the senior team from the Ministry of Health, including Government Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh is scheduled to travel to the region today where an autopsy will be performed to determine Henry’s cause of death.
According to the Ministry, Henry was administered the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine around 2pm yesterday. Henry, the ministry added, showed no reaction to vaccine and he then proceeded home.
Two hours after, he fainted and died, the Ministry said.
The teenager’s aunt, Thalica Peters told Stabroek News last night that after taking the vaccine yesterday, she was told that Henry returned home and sat in a chair.
“….His lip started to get black. He started to tremble and eventually, all the spot, the spot where they insert the vaccine, it get black and with that, in the split of a second all his finger nail and his whole body get black,” Peters said.
Before Henry could have been rushed to the hospital, Peters said he died. “He died home. By time they put he in the car was just to carry he (to the hospital) for the doctor to pronounce he dead, she said.
Prior to this, Peters said her nephew was healthy.
According to the Ministry, Henry received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine three weeks ago “without any adverse effect”.
However, Peters said she was told that Henry experienced a fever and some pain about his body after taking the first dose of the vaccine. That eventually went away, she added.
According to Peters, neither of Henry’s parents or any guardian accompanied him for the vaccine yesterday.
Peters told this newspaper that Henry specifically returned home from vacation at her place in Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo to get vaccinated so that he could return to school.
From the inception, she said she was against her nephew taking the COVID-19 vaccine. She said she even advised her brother, who is Henry’s father not to take him to get the vaccine.
However, Peters said her brother went against her decision since he was eager for Henry to return to school.
“I told my brother, I said `meh brother I don’t think you should take Joshua to take this vaccine. I seh I am seeing too much on the internet about these side effect’. He said he really want him to go to school. Now he son dead he can’t even get to enter the school. He lose he child,” the woman cried.
Observation
While the ministry is saying that Henry was kept for observation for twenty minutes after he received the second dose of the vaccine yesterday, Peters is claiming otherwise.
Peters said that Henry was at an uncle’s place yesterday when he learnt that a team of medical officials was present at the health centre to administer the vaccine to children.
As a result, she said he left and went home to inform his mother that he would be going to get his second dose.
“The boy (Henry) was at an uncle…it’s like a fence away from the health centre and he go home after which is like a two door away and tell his mother that these people come to give the vaccine and he going. So the mother said ‘yuh sure yuh will go?’ and he said ‘yes mommy, I will go’ because is he second dose and he take the book (vaccination booklet) and he gone,” Peters explained.
Henry’s father works as a boat operator while his mother was at home taking care of her newborn.
Persons are usually advised to sit and wait for a few minutes after being administered the vaccine to ensure that no side effects are experienced. They are then cleared to leave.
However, Peters said this instruction was reportedly not given to Henry who journeyed home right after he received his second dose.
“Let me tell you something, the health facility up there, they don’t do anything like how out here they would put them to sit for fifteen minute and so. They not doing it. They just inserting the vaccine and yes, go. They ain’t doing those things,” Peters said.
Peters said no student or anyone should be forced to take the vaccine.
“…….They walking from house to house to compel the people them to take this vaccine. You see in the area there is not something easy to deal with where you see this vaccine is concern…..This thing need to stop. You cannot force people. I am angry and I am grieving,” Peters said.
“That child was with me. He was spending holiday with me. Just because of school going to open he gone back home….They said how long the child ain’t get vaccine, he cannot go to school. So he father seh that is why he need to go take the first dose cause is a year he away from school and he got to go to school,” she said.
