The Health Bureau (SSM) yesterday concluded that Macau’s first case of a serious adverse event following a COVID-19 vaccination – a 67-year-old-man who was hospitalised on Wednesday after being diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) – was merely a coincidental event – i.e. the patient’s adverse event was not related to his COVID-19 vaccination, as he had a number of risk factors that could cause the disease.
The bureau announced the case on Wednesday, according to which the man had his first BioNTech mRNA jab at the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre on Friday last week after passing an assessment of his state of health by a medical worker, who concluded that the man did not have any contraindications to being vaccinated against COVID-19.
According to Wednesday’s announcement, the man came down with pain on the left side of his chest on Tuesday but the symptom ceased after taking a rest. However, he suffered again from the same symptom on Wednesday which even intensified so he sought treatment at the public hospital’s emergency department. An electrocardiogram showed that the man suffered myocardial ischaemia because of which he was diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome, Wednesday’s announcement said.
In a statement yesterday, the Health Bureau said that its working group assessing adverse events after COVID-19 vaccinations had a meeting yesterday morning to assess the man’s case.
The statement said that the man did not come down with any symptoms of indisposition shortly after his COVID-19 vaccination. The man, a smoker, had previously suffered hyperlipidemia, apart from having a family history of coronary heart disease, the statement said.
According to the statement, a coronary angiography showed that the man’s coronary arteries had suffered pathological changes, which he had had for a long time.
The statement also noted that the man came down with pain on the left side of his chest after physical exercise.
From a clinical viewpoint, the Health Bureau has determined that the man had several risk factors that could cause acute coronary syndrome, the statement said.
The statement said that according to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) standards on assessing adverse events after vaccinations, the Health Bureau has determined that the disease which the man came down with after having his COVID-19 jab did not have a causal link with his inoculation, apart from the fact that his disease could be “fully” explained by other risk factors.
Consequently, the special working group concluded during yesterday’s meeting that the man’s serious adverse event following a COVID-19 vaccination was not related to his COVID-19 vaccination and instead was merely a coincidental adverse event.
The Health Bureau pointed out earlier this week that all cases of illness or death that occur after vaccinations are defined by the World Health Organisation as “adverse events after vaccinations”. The occurrence of adverse events after vaccinations does not necessarily mean that the events have been caused by the vaccines per se, the bureau said.
The Health Bureau also pointed out that adverse events after vaccinations comprise four kinds, namely 1) vaccine reactions – i.e. reactions caused by vaccines (such as redness, swelling, heat and pain after vaccinations, as well as allergic reactions), 2) reactions related to immunisation carried out in the wrong way – i.e. reactions caused by errors in the vaccines’ production process or injection process, 3) reactions related to vaccination anxiety, and 4) coincidental events – i.e. diseases that happen to occur after vaccinations but that would have also occurred even though the vaccinations had not been carried out.
Yesterday’s statement underlined that any serious adverse events following COVID-19 vaccinations reported will be transferred to the special working group which will then assess the cases and verify whether there is a causal relationship between the vaccinations and the adverse events, with the aim of “allaying public concerns” and boosting residents’ confidence in COVID-19 inoculations.
Yesterday’s statement did not say whether the man was still hospitalised.
Residents, including senior citizens, wait for COVID-19 inoculations at the Areia Preta Health Centre last month. Photo: GCS
