The death of a man several days after receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is being investigated by the Orange County Coroner.
“After receiving all additional test results, we will use these findings in conjunction with the findings of the autopsy to make a final determination as to the cause and manner of death,” the coroner’s office said in a statement. “If it is determined that there may be a correlation with the vaccine, we will notify the OC Health Agency immediately.”
Sgt. Dennis T. Breckner, public information officer in the sheriff’s department, said the investigation could take months.
The Orange County Register reported that the deceased was Tim Zook, 60, who experienced an adverse reaction hours after receiving a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine on January 5.
Zook, an X-ray technician at the South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, died shortly after midnight on January 7, the newspaper said.
Zook’s wife Rochelle shared the story with the Register to spread the word that, although a thorough investigation into her husband’s death is crucial, people still need to be vaccinated.
“We are not blaming any pharmaceutical company,” said Rochelle. “My husband loved what he did. He worked in hospitals for 36 and a half years. He believed in vaccines. I’m sure he would get the vaccine again and would like the public to get it.
“But when someone shows symptoms 2 and a half hours after the vaccine, that is a reaction. What else could have happened? We would like the public to know what happened to Tim, so that he didn’t die in vain. Serious reactions are rare. In reality, COVID is a far more deadly force than the reactions of the potential vaccine itself.
“The message is, stay safe, get the vaccine – but employees need to do more research. We need to know the cause. Vaccines need to be as safe as possible. Every life is important. “
The news of Zook’s death came after Placer County Public Health said last week that a county man died on January 21, several hours after receiving a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The anonymous man previously tested positive for coronavirus in late December.
“There are several local, state and federal agencies actively investigating this case; any reports surrounding the cause of death are premature, pending the outcome of the investigation,” said a statement from the sheriff’s office. “Our thoughts are with the family of the deceased.”
Placer County Public Health and Human Services did not administer the vaccine in this case and could not comment on whether the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine was given.
Dr. John Swartzberg, professor at UC Berkeley and an infectious disease physician, cautioned against jumping to conclusions until investigations into these two deaths are complete.
“We cannot give people a real answer until we have the autopsy data and find out why they died,” said Swartzberg. “Everything before that is speculation. Both events are true, the question is that they are related? Is it true and related or true and unrelated?”
Swartzberg said that in vaccine testing there were no cases where the vaccine was found to cause death, and even if there was a connection between the vaccine and death in these two recent situations, it is something that we know occurs “only once in many , many millions, not even once in a million. “
“As has been said from the beginning about vaccines in general, this is something that, once we start immunizing hundreds of millions of people, when you are talking about these numbers, there will be events like this that are going to happen,” he said. “The risks are overwhelmingly in your favor to be vaccinated.”
The UCSF infectious disease doctor, Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, agreed with that sentiment. “We always think of a risk-benefit calculation. Your risk of dying is much greater if you don’t get the vaccine,” said Chin-Hong.