Mexico authorities urged to probe death of elderly woman after vaccination with Sinovac

The governor of the Mexican state of Hidalgo, Omar Fayad, recently called on the health authorities to launch an inquiry into the death of a 75-year-old woman shortly after she was administered a shot of Sinovac coronavirus vaccine. While taking to Twitter, Fayad informed that he has requested to carry out an investigation between the competent authorities of the Secretariat of Health of Mexico, and supported by the Secretary of Health of the State of Hidalgo, to know the cause that led to the “unfortunate death” of an elderly person. 

It is worth noting that the family of the deceased, Maria Solis Godinez, said that she passed away 15 minutes after getting inoculated at the vaccination centre. The relatives accused the medical staff of negligence as the woman suffered from blood pressure and was still administered the shot. The authorities, however, have said that the cause of the death remains unclear, with no evidence of the vaccination being behind the incident. The hospital staff also informed that the initial findings suggested the deceased had chronic heart disease. 

Varied efficacy rates 

Amidst China's constant effort to push its Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in other nations, and debates on the efficacy, public reports on its effectiveness have been inconsistent, which the Chinese firm says it has been caused by the variations in methodology. China started the emergency use of its vaccine in July last year. Back in January, the Sinovac shot had also shown four different efficacy rates during clinical trials ranging from over 91 to 50 per cent. 

Indonesia, wherein President Joko Widodo kick-started the inoculation drives by receiving the shot on Live television, had previously said that a local trial showed an efficacy of 65 per cent against Covid-19. However, the rate was dismissed as the trial involved only 1,650 people. Turkey, which conducted a local trial starting September, said that the Chinese vaccine was 91.25 per cent effective. However, this too was dismissed saying that the trials were too small, that is less than 50 people. Meanwhile, in Brazil, where a final phase trial on more than 13,000 people is being conducted, duelling efficacy rates have been publicized.