40 days on, family continues agonising wait for teenage son’s cause of death

KUALA LUMPUR – The family of Revnesh Kumar Naresh Kumar is forced to continue their agonising wait for officials to provide an explanation for the death of their 13-year-old, 18 days after receiving his first Covid-19 vaccination jab.

So far, Revnesh’s death certificate lists the cause of death as “pending laboratory investigation”.

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah told The Vibes today, that he had yet to receive the post-mortem report and laboratory results as “lab results take longer”.

Yesterday, he was also reported as saying that Revnesh’s death was not linked to allergies, adding that the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) did not receive any reports of allergies, side effects, or adverse events following immunisation (AEFI).

On January 16, 18 days after Revnesh’s first vaccination shot, the 13-year-old was on his way to karate lessons when he began vomiting and subsequently collapsed. He was then rushed to the Cheras Batu 9 public health clinic where he was pronounced dead.

According to information shared with The Vibes by two NGOs – the Global Human Rights Federation and Malaysia Tamilar Munnetrea Kalagam – the teen’s body was brought to Serdang Hospital.

They alleged that a forensic pathologist by the name of Dr Emizam Mohamadon said he had not found any organ damage or infections but noticed that a soft tissue behind the walls of Revnesh’s heart had hardened.

This case also drew the attention of Klang MP Charles Santiago who called on the Health Ministry to be more transparent in its handling of AEFI cases.

He told The Vibes that many of his constituents have come to him with post-vaccine side effects, ranging from abnormal menstrual cycles to swelling on their bodies.

He added that the ministry has to acknowledge the real problems the people are facing, as opposed to saying only those with comorbidities will experience post-jab issues.

He recalled Revnesh’s mother, Vijayarani, telling him that the only times her son went to the hospital was when he was born and when he died.

“The ministry has a monopoly to understand what’s happening, and I think it’s time to make it public and open so other people can see… and can join (in the discussion).”

Santiago also believes that the issue threatens to exacerbate vaccine hesitancy among the public.

“In the initial stages of the booster shot roll-out, a vaccination drive organised by my office and an NGO would administer close to a thousand jabs per day, but now to even get 150 is a challenge.”

So far, there have been no deaths in Malaysia directly linked to Covid-19 vaccinations.

Earlier this month, ProtectHealth Corporation Sdn Bhd said the number of vaccine recipients that experienced AEFIs was far below 1% of the total doses administered.

The exact numbers were 0.00028% among Pfizer jabs, 0.0026% among Sinovac doses, and 0.0026% from AstraZeneca doses.

Meanwhile, as of February 18, the NPRA reported a cumulative 58 AEFI cases of the 383,165 doses administered to children under 12. Of those cases, only one was described as serious with the child being admitted to hospital. According to NPRA director Dr Roshayati Mohamad Sani, the child has since been discharged. – The Vibes, February 25, 2022