By Daisy CL Mandap
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| The initial autopsy on Anacleto showed she had cardiac arrest due to aneurysm |
The Hong Kong Health Department has said that a preliminary autopsy has shown that Filipina domestic helper Jergrace T. Anacleto died on Sunday, May 9, from “ruptured dissecting aneurysm of aorta” and not from her vaccination.
In layman’s terms, aortic dissection happens when the inner layer of the aorta, the large blood vessel of the heart, tears, causing blood to surge and the aorta to separate. It is a serious heart condition and the main cause of cardiac arrest.
Anacleto’s sudden death, which happened 18 days after she
had a dose of the BioNTech vaccine, caused widespread fear among Filipinos in
According to the DH’s emailed response to The SUN’s query yesterday, Anacleto’s death “did not fulfill the criteria for reporting as AEFI (Adverse Events Following Immunization), and no clinical evidence was provided to support the event was caused by vaccine.”
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“According to information, she had received a dose of Comirnaty (BioNTech) vaccine 18 days (April 21) prior to her death. There was no record that she complained of feeling unwell during observation at the vaccination centre,” said the DH reply.
Still, the case will reportedly be forwarded to a team of experts at the
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She was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
One of her close friends said Anacleto, who hailed from Guimaras Provice, was a widow with a 21-year-old son.
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Her employer, Judith Bailey, has announced in a Facebook
post that a memorial mass for Anacleto will be held at
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| Suspected adverse events are reported only if they happened within 14 days after the jab |
In its response, the DH explained that Anacleto's death was not reported to the public because it did not fulfill the reporting criteria of AEFIs and did not happen within 14 days after vaccination.
When there are “obvious medical causes (such as clinical diagnosis and post-mortem evidence), health care professionals may consider the case not fulfilling the criteria for reporting as AEFIS, said the statement.
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It also cited figures from the Hospital Authority showing that from Apr 5 to May, 2021, the ratio of death among unvaccinated people was 53.1 cases out of 100,000 people. For those who had the vaccine the ratio was only 2.3 cases for every 100,000 people.
“The overall death rate is similar to that recorded in the past years. Based on the statistical analysis of the above figures, there is no evidence that vaccination increases the risk of death for recipients,” said the DH.
As of May 2, the Expert Committee that assesses adverse events after vaccination has ruled that seven deaths reported were not related to the patients having received vaccination.
It has issued preliminary rulings with the same finding in 21 other deaths which are still awaiting final autopsy reports.
“The Expert Committee considered there is no unusual pattern identified so far, and will continue to closely monitor the relevant situation and collect data for assessment,” said the HA.
