‘Coincidental adverse event’: SSM
A statement released by the Heath Bureau (SSM) late last night said that a 48-year-old man who received his first BioNTech mRNA jab on May 13 and had been diagnosed with acute necrotising epiglottitis passed away yesterday.
According to the statement, the man had been diagnosed with acute necrotising epiglottitis – a life-threatening disorder due to the inflammation of the epiglottis, which occurred after he came down with dyspnoea (shortness of breath) and passed out in his home last Wednesday. The statement said that at that time the man lost consciousness for a while.
The statement said that the man’s heartbeat was restored by emergency treatment, after which he was admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU).
According to the statement, Kiang Wu Hospital had diagnosed the patient as having acute necrotising epiglottitis after carrying out a CT scan, direct laryngoscopy and a blood analysis. The acute necrotising epiglottitis caused the man to suffer an air obstruction, cardiac arrest and acute hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy – a disorder of the brain when it is deprived of adequate oxygen and blood supply, the statement said.
The private Kiang Wu Hospital reported the case to the Health Bureau last Friday, when the bureau’s special working group tasked with assessing serious adverse events after COVID-19 vaccinations called an emergency meeting to discuss the case, which was also attended by the chief doctor who was treating the patient, according to the statement.
The case, which was announced by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre in a statement last Friday, was classified as a serious post-vaccination adverse event. It was Macau’s third case of a serious adverse event following a COVID-19 vaccination.
However, the Health Bureau has concluded that the case was a coincidental event – i.e. the patient’s adverse event was not related to his COVID-19 vaccination, the statement said. The SSM statement reaffirmed the conclusion last night.
The statement pointed out that if the deceased person’s representative or family request a medical error examination, an autopsy will be carried out to further clarify the cause of his death.
The Health Bureau expressed its deep condolences to the man’s family in the statement. The bureau also vowed to provide his family with all necessary assistance.
The Portuguese-language TV channel of public broadcaster TDM last night identified the deceased as local Portuguese lawyer Francisco Gaivão.
