Florida doctor dies after COVID-19 vaccination; Indy doctor says vaccine unlikely the cause
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The federal government is investigating the death of a Florida man, Dr. Gregory Michael, who died after getting the Pfizer vaccine, according to a Facebook post by his wife, Heidi Neckelmann.
The 56-year old doctor’s cause of death was attributed to a rare side effect seen in a handful of people after getting this vaccination. It’s called thrombocytopenia and is characterized by excessive internal bleeding caused by low platelet counts. At this point, there are no reported findings to show a link between the death and the vaccine, but Pfizer is aware of the situation.
“We take reports of adverse events very seriously. We are aware of cases of thrombocytopenia reported to the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) and/or reported to Pfizer. We are collecting relevant information to share with the FDA (Food and Drug Administration),” Steve Danehy, director of global media relations at Pfizer, said in a statement to News 8. “However, at this time, we have not been able to establish a causal association with our vaccine. To date, millions of people have been vaccinated and we are closely monitoring all adverse events in individuals receiving our vaccine. Serious events including deaths that are unrelated to the vaccine are, unfortunately, likely to occur at a similar rate as they would in the general population.”
The statement goes on to say “there have been no related safety signals identified in our clinical trials, the post-marketing experience thus far or with the mRNA platform” and “our immediate thoughts are with the bereaved family.”
So, what happened? News 8 spoke with Dr. Christopher Doehring, vice president of medical affairs at Franciscan Health. He did not treat Michael.
“Understandably, we’re seeing a lot of scrutiny, a lot of eyeballs, and a lot of highlights of what’s happening. But, the unequivocal conclusion at this point with this vaccine is that it’s unbelievably safe. It seems to be effective against the strains so far that we’re dealing with, and we certainly hope and pray it has staying power.”
The federal government is required to disclose any side effects to the public, but this doesn’t necessarily mean the vaccine is the cause to the effect. A number of factors could be contributing; however, the situation gives the appearance that one thing directly resulted in a certain outcome.
Doehring says there is no reason to be concerned and urges Hoosiers to do their part and put an end to this pandemic by getting vaccinated.
Indiana State Department of Health on Thursday reported 29 more deaths from COVID-19, for a total of 11,854. ISDH also says 851,321 Hoosiers have received the first of two doses of their vaccinations, and 377,331 Hoosiers are fully vaccinated.
News 8’s medical reporter, Dr. Mary Elizabeth Gillis, D.Ed., is a classically trained medical physiologist and biobehavioral research scientist. She has been a health, medical and science reporter for over five years. Her work has been featured in national media outlets. You can follow her on Facebook @DrMaryGillis.