PLACER COUNTY (CBS13) – Multiple agencies are investigating the cause of death of a person who died Thursday, hours after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine – the Placer County Sheriff’s office announced Saturday.
The sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post that the person tested positive for the virus in late December.
“The person was given a COVID-19 vaccine just hours before his death on January 21, 2021,” the agency wrote. “The vaccine has not been administered by Placer County Public Health.”
The news of a death hours after the vaccine raised questions and concerns among some Californians such as Britni Tucker.
‘I really rely on the vaccine to cure this pandemic. Because I have a nine-month-old daughter that I’m trying to protect, ”said Tucker. “Now I think it’s something I should definitely do more research on.”
Others, like Auburn’s Eric Parra, say they never intended to get it in the first place.
“This happened so quickly,” said Parra. “I don’t get it myself until I can see it working after a while.”
CBS13 spoke with Dr. Dean Blumberg, UC Davis infectious disease expert, to ask some general questions about vaccine safety precautions as he is not familiar with this particular case.
“All healthcare professionals make sure to report any adverse events after immunization, even those unrelated to it – just to get a signal,” said Dr. Blumberg.
He says the COVID-19 vaccine is not a shot in the dark. He said there are no increased deaths from vaccines, and thousands of subjects were viewed before each vaccine was approved. He also says anything can happen after a vaccination. The cause of death is too early to say.
“They may have other things that are actually random,” he said.
CBS13 also asked Dr. Blumberg: If a person wants to get vaccinated after a positive test for COVID-19, how long should they wait? He said that as long as the individual is no longer contagious and is feeling well, there is no time limit.
Further details regarding the person’s death have not been released, but the sheriff’s office said local, state and federal agencies are under investigation.
Earlier in the week, a batch of Moderna vaccines was decommissioned in the state after some people felt ill after receiving the vaccine. That batch has now been approved for approval and has been put back into use. It is unclear which vaccine was used in this particular case in Placer County.
According to the sheriff’s office, the Placer County coroner’s office will conduct an autopsy by Monday.
CBS13 contacted the California Department of Public Health, but only received a statement that read:
“Our thoughts are with the family of the deceased. We take these cases seriously, which is why we work with our government partners to investigate the cause. We work together and will continue to use data and science to determine how to proceed. “
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