|
 The report comes as the country battles an outbreak of the Delta
variant after nearly six months of being virus free. It followed a
review by an independent panel monitoring the safety of the
vaccines.
"This is the first case in New Zealand where a death in the days
following vaccination has been linked to the Pfizer COVID-19
vaccine," the ministry said in a statement, without giving the
woman's age.
The vaccine monitoring panel attributed the death to myocarditis, a
rare, but known, side-effect of the Pfizer vaccine, the ministry
added.
Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle that can limit
the organ's ability to pump blood and can cause changes in heartbeat
rhythms.
Pfizer said it recognised there could be rare reports of
myocarditis after vaccinations, but such side-effects were extremely
rare.
"Pfizer takes adverse events that are potentially associated with
our vaccine very seriously," it told Reuters.
"We closely monitor all such events and collect relevant information
to share with worldwide regulatory authorities."
The health ministry said other medical issues at the same time could
have influenced the outcome after vaccination.
But the vaccine's benefit outstripped risks from side effects, it
added.
"The benefits of vaccination with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
continue to greatly outweigh the risk of both COVID-19 infection and
vaccine side-effects, including myocarditis."
[to top of second column] |
 Regulators in the United
States, the European Union and the World Health
Organization have said that mRNA vaccines by
Pfizer and partner BioNTech and by Moderna are
associated with rare cases of inflammation of
the heart muscle or of the lining around the
heart but that the benefits outweighed any
risks.
The cases, affecting mainly younger men, tend to
be mild and are treatable but can lead to
serious illness, WHO has said.
The EU's drug regulator said on July 9 that five people had died due
to the side-effect after receiving either of the two mRNA vaccines
in the European Economic Area, all of whom were elderly or had other
diseases. More than 200 million mRNA doses have been administered in
the region.
New Zealand has provisionally approved use of the Pfizer/BioNTech,
Janssen and AstraZeneca vaccines, but only the Pfizer-produced
vaccine has been approved for rollout to the public.
Monday's 53 new cases took New Zealand's tally of infections in the
current outbreak to 562, amid a nationwide lockdown enforced this
month to limit spread of the Delta variant.
(Reporting by Praveen MenonAdditional reporting by Ludwig Burger in
Frankfurt; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Clarence Fernandez and
Nick Macfie)
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