DEPUTY Health Minister Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali said today the ministry’s investigation revealed that viral claims on the alleged deaths of several teenagers following Covid-19 vaccination were untrue.

Noor Azmi, who is also the chairman of the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force-Adolescents (CITF-A) programme, was referring to widely circulated reports on the deaths and admission of five teenagers in Sabah, Perak and an undisclosed location, following vaccination.

On the deaths of two students of Sekolah Menengah Tasek Damai in Ipoh, Perak, Noor Azmi said vaccination was not the cause for both they were yet to be vaccinated.

He said the first deceased person, who was a 17-year-old girl, had Type 1 diabetes and was insulin dependent. She died on August 18, which is before the start of the national vaccination drive for teenagers.

The cause of death in the second case, which was that of a 17-year-old boy, who was also a student at the same school, was identified as sepsis with an underlying congenital health disease. He died on September 17.

On claims a teenager died after vaccination in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Noor Azmi said there was no such case in the area.

Earlier, the Sabah health department also denied the claim, adding that a police report had been lodged against the person behind the viral video.

Noor Azmi also addressed the two adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) cases in Ipoh, involving a pair of siblings.

He said the two, aged 16 and 18, were admitted to a private hospital after experiencing post-vaccination side effects.

He said the 18-year-old is still under observation at the hospital while the 16-year-old has been discharged.

He added he has yet to receive the report on the AEFI cases.

“All private and government medical practitioners must report to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency if they suspect their patients are experiencing AEFI,” he said.

“Spreading false information to the public is an irresponsible act,” he said, adding that those doing so should be prepared to face the consequences of their actions.

He said the veracity of the information must be ascertained first before it is shared publicly.

Noor Azmi also urged parents and guardians to monitor their children for any post-vaccination side effects and to seek immediate medical attention if there were any.

According to CovidNow, 33,050 adolescents aged 12 to 17 have been fully vaccinated while 1.15 million have been partially vaccinated with the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. – September 29, 2021.