VIENTIANE, May 13 (Xinhua) -- The death of an elderly woman in Lao capital Vientiane after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine was unlikely related to any complications caused by the vaccine, according to the Lao Ministry of Health.
A 63-year-old woman passed all the checks including a temperature test before she was vaccinated and did not feel unwell immediately afterwards, Bandith Xomphonphakdy, a vaccine expert, told a press conference in Lao capital Vientiane on Tuesday.
The woman received the AstraZeneca vaccine. She experienced pain in her legs and other parts of her body, the day after being vaccinated, said Bandith.
She had previously been diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension.
Bandith said that the investigation was ongoing, however, medical records provided by the woman's daughter suggested that the woman had not in fact suffered from the underlying complications.
Instead, it was found that the woman had suffered from arthritis and spinal nerve compression and deterioration. She had been treated at several clinics and hospitals and had purchased vitamin supplements, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, anti-gastric, and pain relief medication at pharmacies. The medical records also suggest that she may have had a form of gastritis.
Bandith added that excess and repeated intake of these medications may have caused bleeding in the woman's stomach, resulting in her death, rather than any complications caused by the COVID-19 vaccine.
A total of 84,438 people across the country had received second doses of COVID-19 vaccine as over 418,277 people given first shots, according to a report by the Lao Ministry of Health on Monday. Enditem