Health officials are investigating the death of a Florida physician 16 days after he received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, reportsThe New York Times.
Gregory Michael, MD, a 56-year-old obstetrician and gynecologist, died from an unusually severe blood disorder, theTimesreported. He was given the vaccine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Fla., on Dec. 18 and died 16 days later after a brain hemorrhage, according to theTimes.
Shortly after he was vaccinated, Dr. Michael developed an extremely serious form of acute immune thrombocytopenia, which prevented his blood from clotting properly.
Florida's health department referred Dr. Michael's case to the CDC for investigation, according to theTimes.
Pfizer told theTimesit is "actively investigating" the physician's death but that it doesn't believe there's any direct correlation to the vaccine.
"There have been no related safety signals identified in our clinical trials, the post-marketing experience thus far," or with the technology used to make the vaccine, Pfizer said. "Our immediate thoughts are with the bereaved family."
Local and federal agencies also are investigating Dr. Michael's death, theTimesreported. Several experts told theTimesthe case was highly unusual but could have been a severe reaction to the vaccine.
Read the full articlehere.
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