A Florida doctor died more than two weeks after receiving a vaccine against COVID-19, although he is still investigating whether the shooting had any role.
Dr. Gregory Michael, 56, a gynecologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, died Monday after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke, the Palm Beach Post reports.
The medical episode is believed to have been caused by a lack of platelets, the dam reported.
Michael had received the Pfizer vaccine on Dec. 18 and experienced a “strong reaction,” according to his wife, Heidi Neckelmann.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Neckelmann said Michael went to the hospital three days later because of spots on his skin that indicated he could suffer internal bleeding.
He said doctors determined he had a low platelet count, which they tried to increase “to no avail.”
“Experts from all over the country took part in its care. Whatever they did, the platelet count refused to go up, ”he wrote.
Neckelmann said he was “conscious and energetic throughout the process” until the illness caused him a stroke, which killed him in “a matter of minutes.”
The Florida Department of Health said Miami medical examiners are leading the investigation and will provide their findings to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Palm Beach Post reported.
Pfizer, which developed the vaccine, said it will launch its own probe over his death.
“We are actively investigating this case, but at this time we do not believe there is any direct connection to the vaccine,” the company said at the outset in a statement.