Autopsy rules out vax link in Moradabad ward boy’s death

LUCKNOW: The death of the 46-year-old ward boy Mahipal posted at Moradabad district hospital — about 24 hours after getting the Covid-19 vaccine shot — was not linked to any kind of vaccine-related adverse event, said state health officials here on Monday. Mahipal died in a Moradabad hospital on Sunday evening.
Citing Mahipal’s postmortem report, additional chief secretary information, Navneet Sehgal, said cardiac arrest was the cause of death.Mahipal’s postmortem was conducted by a panel of three doctors.
Heart attack was cause of death: Panel
The autopsy report said that Mahipal went through "cardiogenic shock (when the heart can't pump enough blood for the body) with septicemic shock because of cardio-pulmonary disease". It added: "Left ventricle of the heart was enlarged. There were several blood clots in the aorta artery that carries blood to the heart... the weight of the heart was nearly 500 gm (much more than the normal). Both lungs also show pus pockets."
However, chief medical officer Dr MC Garg said Mahipal Singh's death can't be related to the vaccine shot he got on Saturday. "There are no side-effects (of the Covid vaccine)," Garg said. The viscera has been preserved for further lab tests.
The ward boy was given the Covishield vaccine during the inaugural round on January 16. He was rushed to the hospital on Sunday evening on complaints of ‘breathlessness, discomfort and chestpain’. However, he was declared dead upon arrival.
The panel which conducted the autopsy included Dr Shasi Bhushan, medical officer, CHC Moodhapandey, Dr Nirmal Ojha radiologist, district hospital, Moradabad and Dr RP Mishra, radiologist, district women hospital Moradabad.
In their report submitted to the state health department, the panel concluded heart attack as the cause of death and cardio pulmonary disease as the underlying cause of the heart attack. They also noted that Mahipal’s death was not linked to vaccine side effects.
Mahipal's son-in-law Sachin Kumar said, “He felt unwell after the vaccination and was taking rest at home. He didn’t work on Saturday night. We cannot rely on the autopsy report alone as it doesn’t tell the reason that led to the heart attack. He was quite fit and never had any heart-related problems in the past. We will discuss with family members and take necessary steps thereafter."
TOI contacted one of the doctors in the panel and asked if it was possible to ascertain the exact reason that triggered the cardiogenic shock without the viscera report? He replied: “Only the lab report of viscera can confirm the exact factors that triggered it." Asked about the possibility of the vaccine's sideeffects in the case, he said, “We have shared our opinion with the CMO but the official version can only be given by him.”
Dr Garg added, “We had asked people, who were sick, to skip the vaccination but he (Mahipal) didn’t share the information then. After his death we came to know that he was suffering from Pneumonia a few days ago. The autopsy has indicated the reason behind his death and we will get full confirmation once the viscera reports are available...91staff members were vaccinated with Mahipal and nearly 480 in the entire district. All of them are fine. Yes, few had fever and a few vomited but that is normal."