Parents call for probe into son’s death weeks after vaccination

KUALA LUMPUR – The parents of a 13-year-old boy who died mysteriously less than three weeks after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine have called for a transparent probe into the cause of their son’s untimely death, said a human rights group.

Malaysia Tamilar Munnetra Kalagam chairman Sri Ramesh V. Kannan said the parents of the late Revnesh Kumar Naresh Kumar are asking the Health Ministry to expedite the investigation into the case as the cause of death has yet to be confirmed.

He told The Vibes that although forensic specialists have conducted a post-mortem on the teenager, the results of the findings were still unknown despite the fact that he died a month ago.

“As the cause has yet to be ascertained, the reason listed on the death register certificate states that the matter is ‘Pending for Laboratory Investigation,” Sri Ramesh said when contacted.

“We have been told that it could take half a year before the laboratory report is ready and this is a very long time.”

Sri Ramesh said he hoped Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin will call for the investigation and make an open statement about the findings.

He said the incident has caused anxiety and panic among the community, especially among teenagers who are preparing to receive their vaccines.

Sri Ramesh said Revnesh’s parents, driver Naresh Kumar Lachemenan and housewife Vijayarani Govindan – from Putrajaya – believed the death was related to his first dose of the vaccine, which was taken on December 30, 2021.

He said on January 16 this year, Revnesh was on the way to karate class when he began vomiting and then collapsed before he was rushed to Kajang Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Both parents made the call for the investigation in a video posted on Malaysia Tamilar’s Facebook page this afternoon.

The Vibes has reached out to the Health Ministry for comment on the matter.

“I have no knowledge of this case but will get more info,” said Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah when asked about it.

For the record, there have been no deaths in Malaysia directly linked to Covid-19 vaccines and the ministry has repeatedly dismissed related claims since the national youth Covid-19 immunisation programme (Youth PICK) for teenagers aged 12 and above began in September last year.

Although severe side-effects from Covid-19 vaccines are not impossible, deaths linked to the immunisation are extremely unlikely.

Earlier this month, ProtectHealth Corporation Sdn Bhd – the Health Ministry-owned company which facilitates the country’s vaccination initiative – noted that the number of recipients who experienced adverse events following immunisation (Aefi) after their Covid-19 jabs is far below 1% of the total doses administered in Malaysia.

Its chief executive, Datuk Anas Alam Faizli, shared the statistics to assure the public that all vaccine brands administered in the country are safe and effective.

He told those who were concerned about serious side effects that there were only 1,047 (0.0028%) Aefi cases reported among 36,921,792 Pfizer doses, 554 (0.0026%) cases reported for 20,999,561 doses of Sinovac, and only 138 (0.0026%) from 5,342,274 doses of AstraZeneca.

Anas said for the Cansino vaccines, only three (0.0015%) out of 206,209 doses saw serious side effects, while the Sinopharm vaccine saw zero serious Aefi cases out of 36,395. – The Vibes, February 20, 2022