Health care worker dies after receiving 2nd dose of COVID-19 vaccine

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Orange County health care worker Tim Zook passed away four days after receiving his second dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
• Zook suffered adverse reactions hours after getting the shot. His health deteriorated in a matter of days that resulted in his passing.
• Zook’s wife argued that further research needs to be done to address cases of severe reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine.

After getting the second shot of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, an Orange County health care worker has passed away four days later, based on a report on Tuesday.

Working as an X-ray technologist at South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, Tim Zook, 60, took to his Instagram to showcase his COVID-19 vaccination card last January 5 with a caption, “Never been so excited to get a shot before. I am now fully vaccinated after receiving my 2nd Pfizer dose.”

The Orange County Register said that Zook experienced negative reaction hours after getting inoculated with the vaccine. His condition worsened over time and died on January 9.

Per the coroner, the cause of death is still unknown, and rigorous toxicology research would be needed, which will take months.

Zook had high blood pressure and was a little overweight, his family said, noting that he was quite healthy despite his given condition.

In an interview with the Register, Zook’s wife said that her husband was a vaccine advocate, clearing the pharmaceutical industry on getting blamed.

“He believed in vaccines. I’m sure he would take that vaccine again, and he’d want the public to take it,” she told the newspaper.

She pointed, though, that further research needs to be conducted to address rare cases of severe reactions with regard to the vaccines that resulted in fatal cases.

“The message is, be safe, take the vaccine — but the officials need to do more research. We need to know the cause,” she argued. “The vaccines need to be as safe as possible. Every life matters.”

Zook’s fatal case has been submitted to the national Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, being managed by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In another news, Placer County health authorities reported an individual who died hours after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. The report did not provide details, though, about the brand of the vaccine.

“There are multiple local, state, and federal agencies actively investigating this case; any reports surrounding the cause of death are premature, pending the outcome of the investigation,” the Placer County Sheriff-Coroner Division said in a statement.

The person had contracted the virus in late December. He was given the vaccine on January 21 and died some moments later the same day.

Upon realizing the uncertainty of severe allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC issued a guideline on whether an individual should get vaccinated or otherwise, depending on his/her well-being.

Source: Fox News