Pfizer Inc. and federal health officials are investigating the death of a health worker 16 days after the person received the first dose of the company’s Covid-19 vaccine.
So far, evidence does not suggest any connection, Pfizer said in a statement on Tuesday. The Florida-based doctor developed a rare disorder called severe thrombocytopenia that decreases the body’s ability to clot blood and stop internal bleeding.
Pfizer cited its clinical trials and data collected since the vaccine was authorized in the U.S. to report its initial conclusion that the evidence does not suggest a causal association with the trait it developed with the vaccine. BioNTech SE. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they are aware of the death and will “assess the situation as more information becomes available,” according to spokesman Tom Skinner.
“So far, millions of people have been vaccinated and we are closely monitoring all adverse events in people receiving our vaccine,” Pfizer said in a statement. “It is important to note that serious adverse events, including non-vaccine-related deaths, are likely to occur at a rate similar to that of the general population.”
Pfizer shares fell 2% to $ 37.03 at 3:14 p.m. in New York trading on the day the company he also said his adjusted profits for 2021 would be between $ 3 and $ 3.10 per share, less than analysts expected.
The New York Times first reported the death of Gregory Michael, a 56-year-old obstetrician and gynecologist based in Miami Beach. The Times quoted a Facebook message written Jan. 5 by his wife, Heidi Neckelmann, saying Michael had died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was authorized for emergency use in the U.S. on Dec. 14, with health care workers and those in long-term care centers the first to receive the vaccine. To date, 9.27 million shots of this vaccine and a second authorized vaccine developed by Moderna Inc., according to a state-by-state Bloomberg count and CDC data.
The CDC, along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other federal agencies, regularly review the safety surveillance data for the Covid-19 vaccine and share its findings with a group of drug safety experts. vaccines, which provide independent guidance to federal officials, according to the CDC. Skinner.
“Our thoughts are with the family during this heartbreaking time,” Skinner said.
– With the assistance of Michelle Fay Cortez