A Japanese woman in her 60s who has no underlying conditions or allergies has been reported dead days after receiving a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said the woman received the vaccine on Feb. 2, and died on March 1 from what is presumed to be subarachnoid hemorrhage – a type of stroke affecting the space between the brain and the surrounding membrane.
The ministry said that it would launch a probe to establish if the woman’s death was related to the vaccine. So far, there had been no reports of the Pfizer vaccine causing subarachnoid hemorrhages in Japan.
The American medication was approved in Japan on Feb. 14. Three days later, the country kicked off its vaccination roll-out for healthcare workers. Severe side effects or fatalities ostensibly linked to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine had been reported in several countries.
In Norway, as many as 23 elderly citizens reportedly died after receiving the vaccine. The World Health Organisation (WHO), however, stated that it was not “aware” of any deaths linked to the vaccine. On Monday, Japan received its third batch of Pfizer shots, nearly two weeks after the country approved the American vaccine. The country launched the first steps of its vaccination effort on Feb. 17, offering inoculations for medical workers.