As the country awaits the results of the autopsy on six-year-old Rodrigo, the little boy who died over the weekend after becoming ill following his first dose of Covid vaccine, Infarmed has promised that it will be making a statement today (see update below).
Last night, news channels were reporting the ‘strong possibility’ that Rodrigo had died from ‘choking on his own vomit’.
The message continued that “the vaccine is safe… benefits outweigh the risks”.
But the assurances jarred somewhat: the child may well have choked on his own vomit, but the question remains ‘what caused him to become sick in the first place?’
The situation is further complicated by the fact that on admission to Lisbon’s Santa Maria hospital on Saturday, Rodrigo tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
Various inquiries have been opened as a result of this incident: the latest by the Attorney General’s office.
This morning, tabloid Correio da Manhã carries a double-page spread about adverse reactions to the Covid vaccines, confirming that Rodrigo had only started showing signs of being ill after his first vaccination “a few days previously”.
He was pale, with dark circles under his eyes, said the paper, but continued to attend school.
Liliana Leite – a teacher (of drama) at his school (EB1 São João de Deus in Lisbon) said Rodrigo was not the first pupil to become ill following vaccination against Covid-19.
She said there were “at least two others”.
According to CM, Rodrigo is the second pupil in the school group (Escolas D. Filipa de Lencastre) to die in the last month – although the cause of death of the first child was not given.
For now, what is clear is that the autopsy took place yesterday (Tuesday), thus there is no reason why its results cannot be communicated today.
CM’s coverage includes assurances by the director of pharmacological vigilance at Infarmed that there have been minimal serious adverse reactions in children to the vaccine: 0.03 per 1,000 shots administered. But the paper alludes to “more than 90%” of GNR agents in the district of Viseu having suffered “high fevers, discomfort and vomiting” following their shots.
The paper cited GNR agents in Viseu due to the incident in the district of a 50-year-old agent who went deaf in one ear following his first Covid vaccination (click here).
Despite all treatments, including breathing pure oxygen in the hyperbaric chamber of the Hospital of the Armed Forces, the agent remains deaf – a situation that has affected him psychologically, said a source for the service.
UPDATE:
The autopsy may be completed, but the national institute of legal medicine has just issued a statement to say “complementary exams are needed, conclusions of which should only be known in the space of one month”.
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