HASSAN: A Group D employee who worked in a
private hospital in Hassan
died on Friday, some 20 days after he took the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The man, identified only as Suresh, was 44 years old and was administered Covishield.
His family alleged that he died because of an adverse reaction to the vaccine. They insist that he was healthy and had no comorbidities. However, Dr Sathish, district health officer, said he suspects Suresh died of a
heart attack
. The autopsy report is awaited.
Suresh was from Nettekere village, Belur taluk. His wife Anusuya is also a Group D employee in the same hospital. The couple has two children and the family resided in a facility provided by the hospital.
“This morning, my husband didn’t wake up and his body felt cold,” said Anusuya. “We rushed him to the hospital where they declared him dead. He had no health issues. We suspect the vaccine affected him.”
Dr Harikrishna, medical superintendent of the private hospital, said: “Suresh was among more than 100 staff who took the vaccine. He was off the last two days. He was brought to hospital around 8am. We tried CPR and treated him in ICU, but he didn’t respond. He was addicted to alcohol but quit a year ago and switched to smoking. Usually early morning deaths are heart attack cases.”
Dr Satish said, “No major side effect of the vaccine has been reported in the district till date. The man is above 40 years of age and may have suffered a heart attack. A rapid Covid test showed he is negative for the SARS-CoV2 virus.”