Kaiser says that the Pfizer vaccine probably does not cause the death of a woman in California

A woman with a history of heart disease died shortly after receiving her first dose of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Cal Poly Pomona on Friday, February 12, although her death was not believed to be related to the vaccine, officials said.

The 78-year-old woman received the injection around noon at Cal Poly Pomona, said Dr. Michael E. Morris, chief physician of the Southern California COVID-19 Vaccination Program at Kaiser Permanente.

She was then sitting in an observation area when she complained of discomfort and later lost consciousness when being evaluated by the medical team, said Morris.

Paramedics immediately started CPR, but the woman died, he said. The cause of death was not immediately known, but officials said there were no signs of a serious allergic or anaphylactic reaction.

The woman, who has not been identified, left her 57-year-old husband, who also received her first dose of the vaccine and said she plans to receive the second in a few weeks, Morris said.

Authorities were keeping the vaccination site open and continuing to administer vaccines as long as supplies were available, Morris said.

The woman’s death came a month after a 60-year-old Orange County medical officer died after receiving her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine on 9 January.

Tim Zook, an X-ray technician at the South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, complained of stomach pain and difficulty breathing shortly after receiving his second dose. Several tests were negative for COVID-19.

Orange County coroner officials said Zook’s death was inconclusive pending the results of the toxicology tests. His death was reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Notification System, administered by the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control.

In late January, the notification system – which authorities warn of is a “passive surveillance system” and represents unverified reports of health events that occur after vaccination – brought together more than 130 notifications of death after the vaccine was administered in 2021. More than 23.5 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been administered.