Nursing home resident dies after getting COVID vaccine: report

A nursing home resident in #Switzerland who was among the first in the country to be vaccinated against COVID-19 later died – but officials did not indicate whether the death was related to the jab, according to reports.

“We are aware of the case,” an official in the canton of #Lucerne told #Reuters, adding that the matter has been referred to #Swiss drugs regulator #Swissmedic.

#Lucerne was the site of the first shot by #Pfizer and its #German partner #BioNTech being administered in #Switzerland primarily to the elderly.

A doctor at the nursing home had not been contacted by the vaccination team, according to local news outlet zeitpunkt.ch.

The resident, who received the coronavirus vaccine on #Christmas #Eve, had previously reacted negatively to the flu shot, according to the report.

The person, who had dementia, complained of urethral and abdominal pain on #Saturday, the #Swiss outlet reported. #Later, the resident’s blood pressure dropped and pulse spiked.

#On #Monday, the facility did not report the patient’s worsening condition, zeitpunkt.ch reported.

The following day, the doctor was informed but the patient died soon after, according to the outlet.

#Switzerland has so far received 107,000 vaccine doses, and expects to get 250,000 per month starting next year, according to #Reuters.

The country has documented five cases of a coronavirus variant from the UK and two cases of a #South #African variant, a #Swiss health ministry official said, adding that he anticipates more cases of these faster-spreading mutations will emerge.

#In #Israel, a 75-year-old man also died after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination – but his death was said to be from a heart attack believed to be unrelated to the jab.

The unidentified man got the #Pfizer shot at 8:30 a.m. #Monday, and within hours had lost consciousness and died at home in #Beit #She’an, the #Jerusalem #Post said.