South Korea probes deaths of two who received AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

By Sangmi Cha

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean authorities said on Wednesday they are investigating the deaths of two people, both with pre-existing conditions, who died within days of receiving AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine.

A 63-year-old nursing home patient with cerebrovascular disease, developed symptoms including high fever, after being given the vaccine four days ago, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a briefing.

The man was moved to a larger hospital on Tuesday, but died after showing symptoms of blood poisoning and pneumonia, Yonhap news agency reported.

Another nursing home patient in his 50s with a cardiac disorder and diabetes died on Wednesday after suffering multiple heart attacks, having received the vaccine a day earlier, the agency said.

Watch: COVID-19 - Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines 'highly effective' at preventing hospital admissions in over-80s, study finds

KDCA said it is investigating the cause of the deaths, but did not confirm any causal relationship to the vaccine. The agency earlier said it will provide compensation of over 430 million won ($383,466) for deaths from the COVID-19 vaccine.

"KDCA is conducting epidemiological surveys with relevant local authorities... to confirm any link with inoculation," said Jeong.

An AstraZeneca spokeswoman in Seoul said the company had no comment.

Jeong noted that there were no cases of fatalities from receiving COVID-19 vaccines developed by AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech. However, did urge people to take the shot when they are feeling in good health.

The KDCA said that out of the people who had received the coronavirus vaccines, 207 had adverse reactions, including three cases of severe allergic reactions, known as anaphylaxis.

South Korea began vaccinating its population last week. By Tuesday midnight, 85,904 people had received the first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 1,524 had been given Pfizer shots, KDCA said in a statement.

South Korea reported 444 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, up from 344 on Monday, raising the country's tally to 90,816 infections, with 1,612 deaths.

($1 = 1,121.3500 won)

(Reporting by Sangmi Cha; editing by Richard Pullin and Christian Schmollinger)

Watch: What is long COVID?