KUALA LUMPUR – The post-mortem results of the teenager who died 18 days after his first Covid-19 vaccination must be made public, said Klang MP Charles Santiago.
Referring to the case of 13-year-old Revnesh Kumar Naresh Kumar, who died tragically on January 16, Santiago respects the Health Ministry’s decision to inform his parents first.
However, due to the “public significance” of the matter, he believes it is incumbent upon the ministry to encourage Revnesh’s parents to allow the results to be made public.
“It’s not just about one child,” he told The Vibes, adding that “it’s about a whole lot of children whose parents are concerned that their child might have the same problem.”
According to Santiago, the case has raised many questions and fear among parents.
Failing to make the information public, he adds, might exacerbate vaccine hesitancy.
Earlier today, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced that he will be meeting the late teen’s parents tomorrow, in order to present the post-mortem results to them.
Due to the confidential nature of the results, Khairy said the decision to make the data public lies in the hands of the parents.
If Revnesh’s parents agree to publicise the data, it will be anonymised, the Rembau MP told reporters.
On January 16, the 13-year-old was on his way to karate lessons when he began vomiting and collapsed.
He was then rushed to the Cheras Batu 9 public health clinic, where he was pronounced dead.
According to the death certificate, the cause of death was listed as “pending laboratory investigation.”
This resulted in the family’s agonising wait, as they were told that the results might take up to six months.
For the record, there have been no deaths in Malaysia directly linked to Covid-19 vaccinations.
As of February 18, the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (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, March 3, 2022
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