An autopsy performed on the 13-year-old Moruca boy who died hours after he was administered the second dose of the COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, gave his cause of death as haemorrhaging in the brain.
The findings were last night related to this newspaper by the boy’s aunt, Thalica Peters.
Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony when contacted last night said that he could not comment on the findings as he was awaiting the official report.
He explained that the pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh was able to perform the post-mortem examination yesterday and will be submitting his official report today.
The post mortem was performed on Joshua Henry yesterday at the Kumaka District Hospital.
As of last night, Peters told this newspaper that they have not heard from any ministry official about what happens next.
Henry, a resident of Moruca, Region One and student of the Santa Rosa Secondary school fainted and died two hours after receiving his jab.
The Ministry of Health has since stated that a senior team of investigators will be probing the matter.
According to the ministry, Henry was administered the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine around 2pm on Monday. Henry, the ministry added, showed no reaction to vaccine and was allowed to proceed home.
Peters related to Stabroek News on Monday that she was told that after taking the vaccine, her nephew 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.”
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, the aunt 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.
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 on Monday 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.
Persons are usually advised to sit and wait for fifteen minutes after being administered the vaccine to ensure that no side effects are experienced. They are then cleared to leave.
