The family of a girl who fell into a coma and died after getting a second Pfizer-BNT (BNT) COVID-19 vaccine dose will receive NT$3.5 million (US$114,111) after she was named on the list of relief fund recipients who suffered adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccine shots unveiled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) on Sunday.
According to Central Epidemic Command Center spokesperson Lo Yi-chun (???), only 10 of 118 applicants were considered qualified to receive payouts by the MOHW’s Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), including the girl who died after receiving her second BNT vaccine dose.
The girl, who was in the 5-11 age group, fell into a coma three days after receiving her second BNT vaccine dose, and was diagnosed with fulminant myocarditis after having an ultrasound scan before she died, Lo said.
Lo said fulminant myocarditis is usually caused by a viral infection, but the BNT vaccine is classified as an mRNA vaccine, which is not likely to induce the disease.
Though there was no pathological evidence to prove the girl died from receiving the BNT vaccine, Lo said the possibility could not be excluded due to the timing of her death, given the fact that having two BNT vaccine doses increased the possibility of gettingfulminant myocarditis that could lead to her death.
As a result, VICP awarded her family NT$3.5 million for her death plus NT$300,000 for funeral costs.
In addition to the girl’s family, three Moderna recipients were awarded compensation ranging from NT$5,000 to NT$500,000, five AstraZeneca (AZ) recipients will receive amounts from NT$20,000 to NT$250,000, and one Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) recipient will get NT$300,000.
The BCG recipient was a baby who received the vaccine at five months of age and developed osteomyelitis at 3, Lo said. The VICP considered it eligible for the payouts as evidence showed that the child might have contracted the disease as a result of receiving the BCG vaccine.
According to the CECC data, about 4.5 boys per one million aged 5-11 who receive the BNT vaccine develop myocarditis or pericarditis, whereas the number for girls of the same age group is about 4.8, both of which are close to international data.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel