The coronavirus vaccine manufacturer, Pfizer/BioNTech, reacted to the death of a 47-year-old Ukrainian a few hours after he received a shot of a Pfizer coronavirus vaccine on July 2, 2021. Ukraine's health ministry is investigating the case, Reuters reported with the reference to the press service of the Ministry.
According to the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine, the death may have no connection to the shot and that another five people who were vaccinated from the same vial as the man who died were in a satisfactory condition.
The ministry said that under Ukrainian law and international standards for the organization of pharmacovigilance for adverse events after immunization, every death that occurs within 30 days of immunization must be investigated.
The same was said in the official statement published by Pfizer.
"Our immediate thoughts are with the bereaved family. We take adverse events that are potentially associated with our COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b2, very seriously. We note at this time that no causal link has been established in this case," Pfizer said in a statement.
"To date, more than 400 million people around the world have been vaccinated with our vaccine. It is important to note that serious adverse events that are unrelated to the vaccine are unfortunately likely to occur at a similar rate as they would in the general population," Pfizer stated.
About 2 million people in Ukraine have received their first shot since February, but no deaths caused by vaccination have been reported.
Ukraine, with a population of 41 million, has been among the European countries most affected by the pandemic, with around 2.24 million COVID-19 cases and 52,460 deaths as of July 3.