MIAMI (CBSMiami / CNN) – The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner says that the death of a South Florida doctor was definitely not associated with the Pfizer vaccine against the coronavirus he took weeks earlier.
Dr. Gregory Michael, who worked at Mount Sinai Medical Center, died two weeks after getting the vaccine.
His widow, Heidi Neckelmann, posted on Facebook: “He was a very healthy 56-year-old man, loved by everyone in the community, gave birth to hundreds of healthy babies and worked tirelessly during the pandemic. I believe that people should be aware that side effects can happen. “
Neckelmann also said that her husband had a hemorrhagic stroke due to a lack of platelets. He would have had an unusual case of severe thrombocytopenia, a condition that decreases the body’s ability to clot the body and stop internal bleeding.
Neckelmann said he sought emergency care three days after receiving the vaccine, after detecting spots on his skin indicating internal bleeding.
Dr. Aileen Marty, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at FIU, told Peter D’Oench of CBS4: “Any death like this is very tragic. He was a colleague and I deeply feel the loss of Dr. Michael. “
“There is nothing in clinical trials to indicate that this is a likely result of the vaccine itself. That said, we are always learning new things. This is a new situation and we have to analyze it very carefully ”, he added. “You have to look at the many millions of people who have been vaccinated around the world with these vaccines and compare what is happening around the world with death and morbidity because of COVID-19. I know that the coroner is first-rate in Miami-Dade and will be able to provide us with details that will explain exactly what happened. “
The Miami-Dade County medical examiner is working with the Florida Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate Michael’s death.
Although it is definitely not linked to the vaccine, this is one of the possibilities that are being explored, according to Darren Caprara, director of operations at the medical examiner’s office.
More from CBSMiami.com
Florida Senator Marco Rubio calls the Capitol siege ‘one of the saddest days in history’ and ‘national embarrassment’
Florida Governor DeSantis ‘will not allow any local government to block people’, reaffirms opposition to the COVID-19 rules
New proposal would increase state unemployment benefits from $ 275 to $ 400
Caprara said that Michael received a vaccine around December 19 and died “at the end of January 3 on the 4th”.
An autopsy was carried out on Tuesday, Caprara said, with the cause of death pending completion of studies by the coroner and partner agencies.
Pfizer also said it was investigating.
“Pfizer and BioNTech are aware of the death of a healthcare professional sixteen days after receiving the first dose” of the vaccine, Pfizer said in a statement. “It is a very unusual clinical case of severe thrombocytopenia, a condition that decreases the body’s ability to clot blood and stop internal bleeding,” he added.
“We are actively investigating this case, but we do not believe at the moment that there is any direct connection to the vaccine,” the company said in the statement.
“There were no related safety signs identified in our clinical trials, the post-marketing experience so far or with the mRNA vaccine platform. To date, millions of people have been vaccinated and we are closely monitoring all adverse events in individuals receiving our vaccine. “
CDC officials said on Wednesday they saw no worrisome reactions to coronavirus vaccines, as well as 29 cases of severe allergic reactions.
According to the CDC, more than 5.3 million people received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in the United States.
In its statement on Wednesday night, the agency said it regularly reviews safety data along with other federal agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration, as well as vaccine safety experts who independently review the data, make recommendations and provide guidance.
“The CDC will assess the situation as more information becomes available and will provide timely updates on what is known and any necessary actions,” said the statement.
Both Pfizer and CDC said their thoughts were with the family.
(© 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved. Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner company, contributed to this report.)