THE parents of N. Revnesh Kumar, who they believe died after taking a Covid-19 vaccine, has asked why the Health Ministry is delaying publishing the report on the full investigation into the cause of his death, despite already having received it from abroad.

Vijayarani Govindan, the mother of the 13-year-old, said a ministry official informed her that they had shared the final report to an independent committee and that they are waiting for their reply for further action.

Vijayarani said she was concerned over how the matter was handled and claimed the ministry’s actions were “dubious”, because it was not keeping the family informed.

“When I called the ministry on Thursday, a doctor by the name of Suriana told me that they have received the official report from abroad but said they can’t disclose (information) to us yet,” the housewife told The Malaysian Insight.

“I was told that some experts from an independent committee would want to do a comprehensive study of the report before handing it over to us.

“Didn’t forensic experts from the ministry declare my son’s death as ‘sudden death’? I wonder what they are looking at now.

“We, as parents, should be notified immediately the moment the report arrives and whatever that is done subsequently should be approved by us, but they didn’t get our consent nor did they inform us until I called.

“The Health Ministry’s behaviour just raises more questions,” she said.

Vijayarani said she had called the ministry in mid-September to ask for an update about the report but said she was told that the ministry had not received it, only verbal information regarding it.

Initially, Vijayarani said the ministry sent her a letter, in which it said it had sent the tissue samples to the US on June 23 and that it would take about 60 days for the findings to be revealed.

Vijayarani said when she asked a ministry official about the delay she was given an apologetic response.

“I was simply given an answer ‘Sorry, kami terlupa’ (sorry, we forgot),” she said.

Vijayarani also said that she was advised not to bring the matter to the media and allow the independent committee to formulate an outcome.

“I was told to postpone any media conferences or interviews,” she said.

Revnesh died on January 16, 18 days after taking his first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.

Revnesh was on the way to karate class, accompanied by his father, L. Naresh Kumar, when he collapsed in the lift and was rushed to Kajang Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Vijayarani and her husband have blamed the vaccine for causing the boy’s death.

Initially, authorities could not provide a reason for Revnesh’s death, despite an autopsy.

However, a peer-reviewed preliminary report released on March 9 from the Health Ministry, conducted by forensic experts, showed that the teenager’s death was not related to the coronavirus vaccine.

The preliminary report only stated that Revnesh died a “sudden death” as test results showed his organs were all healthy and his body was not affected by the vaccine.

Vijayarani disputed the ministry’s findings and still believes that the vaccine was the cause.

She claimed that since the start the ministry had tried to write off the possibility that the vaccine had contributed to Revnesh’s death, and hence she wanted an independent inquiry into the matter.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on March 17 said the case would be referred to an independent panel of experts for further investigation.

Vijayarani, who has an 11-year-old daughter, said she would not rest until she received justice for her son.

She said that if the new findings proved that her son had actually died from the Covid-19 vaccine, she would not hesitate to sue the government. – October 1, 2022.