Coronial inquest to begin into death of man after having Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

A coronial inquest is set to begin over the death of Dunedin plumber Rory Nairn, who died shortly after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.

The 26-year-old Dunedin man, who received his first Pfizer vaccine on November 5, died at his home on November 17, after initially complaining of chest pains.

An autopsy on Nairn, who had no previous significant health issues, found his death was “consistent with vaccine-related myocarditis”.

Myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, is a rare side effect of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, affecting about three in every 100,000 people vaccinated.

Most cases are mild and do not require treatment, according to the Heart Foundation. The risk of myocarditis is significantly higher in those who contract Covid-19 while unvaccinated according to Immunologist, Professor Graham Le Gros.

The inquest, being held at Dunedin District Court, is set to begin on Tuesday, and will continue next week.

More than 11.6 million vaccinations and boosters have been recorded in New Zealand by the Ministry of Health, as of midnight on Sunday.

MedSafe, the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority, noted that there had been 62,937 adverse events following immunisation with the Pfizer vaccine up until June 30, the date of the most recent vaccine safety report available.

Of those reports, 59,485 were classified as non-serious, and 3452 were serious.

A summary of reported deaths shows that up to June 30, 171 deaths were reported to the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM) following administration of the Pfizer vaccine.

Reports are sent to CARM if it is suspected the vaccine may have caused an adverse event.

Of those deaths, 137 were unlikely to be related to the Covid-19 vaccine, 23 deaths could not be assessed due to insufficient information, and eight cases are still under investigation.

Two deaths were likely due to vaccine-induced myocarditis, but were awaiting a determination from the coroner, while one death was determined by the coroner to have been due to myocarditis following the first Pfizer vaccination.

Nairn, who was unnamed in a Ministry of Health statement in December, was one of those deaths.

‘’With the current available information, the [Covid-19 Vaccine Independent Safety Monitoring Board] has considered that the myocarditis was probably due to vaccination in this individual,’’ the statement said.

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