Over RM132k compensation approved for vaccine adverse effects

The government has approved eight claims so far under a government fund for severe adverse events linked to Covid-19 vaccination.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the compensation totalling RM132,500 is being disbursed by the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma).

“There are no cases of death (caused by the vaccines), only cases that needed hospital treatment.

“For context, out of 52.5 million doses, there are eight cases where we have agreed to pay out,” he told a press conference in Putrajaya today in response to a reporter’s question.

He said the ministry has received 93 applications for compensation under the Covid-19 Vaccine Adverse Events Financial Aid Fund as of yesterday (Nov 25).

Of these, 56 applications are still being evaluated by the Covid-19 Vaccine Special Pharmacovigilance Committee (JFK) and 22 are being evaluated by the Medical Technical Committee (JTP).

Another seven applications have been rejected because the cases were not categorised as severe adverse events.

For the record, according to the Health Ministry’s Github data repository, the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) received 1,560 reports claiming serious adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) involving Covid-19 vaccines up to Nov 23.

This corresponds to a reporting rate of 29.7 events per million doses, but only 5.9 percent of suspected severe AEFI cases have led to a claim for compensation.

The dataset also comes with a disclaimer explaining that the reported figures are unverified since they are self-declared, and the reported events don’t always have a causal relationship with the vaccine.

“Establishing causality requires additional investigation. Serious AEFI reports are always followed-up and investigated thoroughly for a better understanding of the circumstances.

“However, our public data does not generally change based on information obtained from the investigation process (i.e. We do not reduce AEFI counts after the fact),” the disclaimer reads.

Explaining the compensation process, Khairy said the fund is for AEFI cases that occur within three months after vaccination.

To be eligible, it should be classified as “serious” by the JFK, and an AEFI report needs to be filed to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) by healthcare workers who treated the patient.

Those who require extended hospitalisation due to AEFI are eligible for up to RM50,000 in compensation, while those who suffer permanent disability or death are eligible for up to RM500,000.

“The amount payable to the individual affected by AEFI is determined based on JTP’s recommendation and finalised by the Covid-19 Vaccine Adverse Events Financial Aid Fund steering committee,” Khairy said.

Meanwhile, Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah announced the findings of the post-mortem of the ministry’s senior principal assistant director Dr Chai Koh Meow.

Chai received a Covid-19 booster shot on Nov 9 and died eight days later on Nov 17. The timing led some to speculate that the booster shot had caused Chai’s demise.

Noor Hisham said the autopsy found that Chai died of “hemopericardium caused by coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction”.

The finding is being announced after obtaining consent from Chai’s next-of-kin due to medical privacy reasons.

Hemopericardium is a medical condition where blood bleeds into the sac surrounding the heart, usually after a myocardial infarction (i.e. a heart attack) or some other chest trauma.

Khairy took the opportunity to reiterate the ministry’s commitment to transparency on matters surrounding Malaysia’s Covid-19 vaccine program, including on matters relating to AEFI.

He assured that the vaccines - including booster shots - are safe and their benefits far outweigh their risks.

“Today I’ve asked the director-general to mention Chai’s case and we have obtained the next-of-kin’s consent to share the post-mortem findings to show we have nothing to hide.

“For any case, we will conduct a detailed forensic and post-mortem examination before reaching a conclusion.

“For now, we are still of the position that there are no deaths so far that are directly linked to the vaccines - whether the primary series or the boosters.

“But if there is a case verified by the three committees mentioned earlier, we will inform the people,” he said. - Mkini