Swiss canton says person died after COVID-19 shot, unclear if there is a link

[December 31, 2020]  ZURICH (Reuters) - A Swiss person who was among the first in the country to be vaccinated with a COVID-19 shot later died, officials in the canton of Lucerne said on Wednesday, though they did not indicate whether the death was related to the inoculation.

"We are aware of the case," a spokesperson said, adding the matter had been referred to Swiss drugs regulator Swissmedic.

Lucerne was the site of the first vaccinations in Switzerland beginning last week, with a shot from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech given primarily to elderly people. Switzerland has received 107,000 vaccine doses, so far, and expects to get 250,000 per month starting next year.

(Reporting by Oliver Hirt, writing by John Miller; editing by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi)

[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.