The Health Ministry has verified a letter from the Kajang prison director which detailed 18 serious cases of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) – including two deaths – among the inmates, after pictures of the letter went viral on social media.
The ministry noted that it has received the reports on the cases and is still investigating those classified as serious AEFI.
“The Health Ministry, through the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) is continuously monitoring the safety of all vaccines, including the Covid-19 vaccine through the AEFI reports.
“All the reports stated in the letter have been received by the NPRA. The reports of serious AEFI including deaths are currently under investigation,” said NPRA director Dr Roshayati Mohamad Sani.
The Hulu Langat district health office, as well as the Selangor Health Department, will then present the results of the investigation to the Covid-19 Vaccine Special Pharmacovigilance Committee (JFK) in order to determine whether there is a causal link between the vaccine and the adverse effects.
She was referring to a letter dated Nov 30, 2021, sent by the Kajang prison director to the local district health office, in which the director had detailed 18 serious AEFI cases and requested clarification regarding the booster shots.
Out of the 18 cases, the two who died were those who had received the Pfizer vaccine, according to the letter.
Based on publicly available data from the Health Ministry, there were 124 serious AEFI reports lodged to the NPRA in relation to the Pfizer vaccine, out of 5,788,459 doses administered since Nov 1, 2021.
Separately, Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) has demanded more clarification on the vaccination process for prison inmates, who it claimed have no need for vaccination as they are isolated within the prisons.
“PPIM is very concerned about this (AEFI) phenomenon seeing as prisons are an enclosed area with minimal interaction with the outside world.
“We urge that the vaccination for prison inmates be reconsidered, maybe only giving it when needed, like for those who are about to be released,” said PPIM president Nadzim Johan in a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.
PPIM urged the government to reveal whether the Kajang inmates had already received their booster shots.
They also wanted to know how many prisoners within the country have received their vaccine shots and also their vaccination stage.
Lastly, they wanted to know how many AEFI cases have been recorded among prison inmates nationwide thus far.
“Were there detailed pathology tests conducted for all the deaths? Are the family members of the deceased provided with true information?” Nadzim questioned. - Mkini
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