The Immunization Division of the Union Ministry of the Health and Family Welfare has found that the death of actor Vivek wasn’t related to vaccination. Vivek passed away on 17 April, two days after he took his COVID-19 vaccine. In their report, the National Committee on Serious Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) stated that Vivek’s death was ‘coincidental’.
The committee also stated that the cause of death for Vivek was ‘Acute myocardial infraction with cardiogenic shock with ventricular fibrillation in a known cause of hypertension.’ Acute myocardial infraction is the obstruction in a coronary artery, which carries blood to the heart.
Cardiogenic shock is a condition where the heart suddenly stops pumping blood and ventricular fibrillation is a type of abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) where the heart’s lower chambers (ventricles) twitch. The heart doesn’t pump blood adequately as a result.
Vivek passed away at the SIMS Hospital in Chennai after a cardiac arrest and the doctors has said that the actor had a 100% blockage in the left anterior descending artery.
The AEFI’s process to identify whether the death is linked to the COVID-19 vaccine goes through rigorous verification. The committee categorised Vivek’s death under the ‘C’ category which stands for ‘Coincidental- Underlying or emerging condition(s), or conditions caused by exposure to something other than vaccine, The News Minute reported.
Vivek’s death caused further hesitancy to take the vaccine since people assumed the COVID-19 vaccine led to his demise, the publication reported. The AEFI committee said that vaccination has “overwhelmingly greater” benefits compared to the small risk of harm.
(With inputs from The News Minute)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)