LIVINGSTON, NJ – Authorities are investigating the death of a trained physician in New Jersey, who died weeks after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against the COVID-19 virus. According to Pfizer, the company does not believe there is a direct relationship between the vaccine and its death.
Gregory Michael, 56, who completed his residency at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, received the first dose of the vaccine on December 18. He died on Monday in Florida, where he practiced and was born, after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke that apparently resulted from a lack of blood platelets, USA Today reported.
In a social media post, Michael’s wife said the “very healthy” 56-year-old man found a “strong set of petechiae” on his feet and hands three days after receiving his first dose of the vaccine.
“He was a supporter of the vaccine … that’s why he got it himself,” she said, saying the vaccine was linked to his death.
The Miami-Dade County coroner said that Michael’s death is definitely not linked to the vaccine, although that is among the possibilities being explored. The investigation is being conducted in cooperation with the Florida Department of Health and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pfizer provided CNN with a statement on Michael’s death, writing:
“Pfizer and BioNTech are aware of the death of a healthcare professional 16 days after receiving the first dose of the vaccine. It is a very unusual clinical case of severe thrombocytopenia, a condition that decreases the body’s ability to clot blood and stop the internal bleeding … We are actively investigating this case, but we do not believe at the moment that there is any direct connection with the vaccine … There were no related safety signs identified in our clinical trials, the post-marketing experience so far or with mRNA vaccine platform. To date, millions of people have been vaccinated and we are closely monitoring all adverse events in individuals receiving our vaccine. It is important to note that serious adverse events, including unrelated deaths, are unfortunately likely to occur at a rate similar to that of the general population. “
According to his website, Michael received his MD from St. George’s University. He completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, and was a Galloway Fellow at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He practiced at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach.
Here’s what the CDC says about the two COVID-19 vaccines available from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna:
“The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorizations (USA) for two COVID-19 vaccines that have been shown to be safe and effective as determined by data from manufacturers and results from large clinical trials. These data demonstrate that the known benefits and potentials of this vaccine outweigh the known and potential harm of becoming infected with coronavirus 2019 (COVID 19).
See the CDC product information for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine here.
As of Wednesday, more than 17.2 million total doses of COVID-19 vaccines were distributed in the United States. More than 5.3 million people received their first dose, says the CDC.
According to the CDC, from December 14 to 23, after the administration of 1.89 million first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, notifications of 4,393 (0.2 percent) “adverse events” were submitted to VAERS, a national passive surveillance system jointly operated by the CDC and FDA.