An X-ray technician from California died earlier this month, just four days after receiving his second dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, a report said.
Tim Zook, 60, died at UC Irvine Medical Center on January 9 after first becoming ill at the South Coast Global Medical Center – where he worked – hours after receiving his second injection, the Orange County Register reported.
Zook, married and father of three, shared his emotion on Facebook after completing the vaccination.
“I’ve never been so excited to take a picture before,” he wrote on January 5, the report said. “Now I am fully vaccinated after receiving my 2nd dose from Pfizer.”
His rapid decline in health and his definitive death left his wife, Rochelle Zook, in search of answers.
She said that in addition to hypertension, which was controlled with medication, and slightly overweight, her husband was healthy.
“We are not blaming any pharmaceutical company,” Rochelle told the newspaper. “But when someone shows symptoms 2 and a half hours after the vaccine, that is a reaction. What else could have happened?
“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, ”she said.
The cause of Tim’s death, which has yet to be determined, is being investigated by the Orange County Coroner, the report said.
“If it is determined that there may be a correlation with the vaccine, we will immediately notify the OC Health Care Agency,” Carrie Braun, a spokesman for the coroner’s office, told the newspaper.
The California Department of Health and Human Services is also investigating deaths in the state possibly related to the vaccine.