Pfizer says it is investigating the death of a Florida doctor who received one dose of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also reportedly investigating the death of Gregory Michael, a 56-year-old obstetrician who had taken the injection 16 days earlier.
Pfizer said there is no evidence so far that Michael’s death was caused by the vaccine it developed with German biotech company BioNTech.
Manhattan-based Pfizer called it a “highly unusual clinical case” of a condition called severe thrombocytopenia that limits the body’s ability to clot blood and stop internal bleeding.
“To date, millions of people have been vaccinated and we are closely monitoring all adverse events in individuals who receive our vaccine,” Pfizer spokesman Jerica Pitts told The Post on Wednesday. “It is important to note that serious adverse events, including deaths unrelated to the vaccine, are unfortunately likely to occur at the same rate as in the general population.”
The CDC is also aware of the death and “will evaluate the situation as more information becomes available,” spokesman Tom Skinner told Bloomberg News.
Michael’s wife, Heidi Neckelmann, said in a Facebook post that her husband died of a stroke after spending two weeks in a Miami Beach hospital. She attributed his death to a “strong reaction to the COVID vaccine,” which she said he got on Dec. 18.
“I think people should be aware that side effects can occur, that it’s not good for everyone and in this case has destroyed a beautiful life, a perfect family and affected so many people in the community,” Neckelmann said in the report. post, adding that her late husband was a “vaccine advocate.”
However, Pfizer does not believe there is a link between the vaccine and death based on the clinical trials of the shot and the “post-marketing experience so far,” Pitts said.
Pfizer’s vaccine is one of two vaccines that U.S. officials have approved for emergency use as the country struggles to get the deadly COVID-19 pandemic under control. The other shot was developed by Massachusetts-based biotech company Moderna.
The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Wednesday.