Health authorities are investigating the case of a doctor in Florida who died from an abnormal blood disorder 16 days after receiving the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.
Dr. Gregory Michael, a 56-year-old obstetrician and gynecologist in Miami Beach, was vaccinated at Mount Sinai Medical Center on Dec. 18 and died 16 days later from a brain hemorrhage, his wife, Heidi Neckelmann, wrote in a post on Facebook.
Shortly after receiving the vaccine, Michael developed a very serious form of immune disorder called thrombocytopenia, which prevented his blood from shedding properly.
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In a statement, Pfizer, the vaccine maker, said that they were “actively investigating” the case, “but we do not believe at this time that there is a direct link to the vaccine.” ”
“No associated safety markers have been identified in our clinical trials, post-marketing experience to date” or with the technology used to make the vaccine, the company said. “Our thoughts are immediately with the bereaved family.”
Approximately 9 million people in the United States have received at least one picture of the Pfizer or Moderna coronavirus vaccine, both authorized in the United States. To date, 29 cases of anaphylaxis have been severe complications, a true allergic reaction. None were reported fatal. Many people have had other side effects such as sore arms, fatigue, headaches or fever, which are usually immobile.
Local and federal agencies are investigating Michael’s death. Several experts said the case was highly unusual but could have been a true response to the vaccine.
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The Florida Department of Health reported Michael’s death to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for investigation. Kristen Nordlund, a CDC spokeswoman, said in a statement that the group would “evaluate the situation as more information becomes available and provide timely updates on what is known and any necessary actions. ”
The Miami-Dade County medical examiner’s office is still investigating Michael’s death and has not yet completed an autopsy report or identified the cause of death, said Darren J. Caprara, a spokesman.
Mount Sinai Medical Center declined to comment, citing patient privacy laws.
According to Neckelmann, three days after her husband received the vaccine, he developed tiny spots, or petechiae, caused by swelling under the skin of his hands and feet. Recognizing the spots as a danger sign, he went to the emergency room. A blood test showed that the level of his platelets, a blood component necessary for circulation, was at zero, she wrote, and he was admitted to the intensive care unit with a diagnosis of immune thrombocytopenia.
Michael had “no medical issues” and no health conditions, said Neckelmann, who refused to be interviewed by phone while preparing for a funeral, in a text message to The New York Times. “Medication or vaccines have never had any effect.” Her husband, she said, was a healthy, active person who did not smoke or take any medication.
“He was a deep-sea fisherman and largely a family man,” she said. “He never got Covidbecause he used an N95 mask since the beginning of the pandemic. He was strong to protect his family and his patients. ”
He also believed in the promise of the vaccine, she wrote on Facebook.
For two weeks, doctors tried to pick up Michael’s plate count, and “experts from all over the country were involved in his care,” she wrote on Facebook.
“He was conscious and cheerful throughout the process, but two days before his final surgery, he suffered a hemorrhagic stroke caused by the lack of plates that took his life in a matter of minutes,” she wrote.
The planned surgery would have removed Michael’s spleen, a task that helps treat the clotting disorder.
Neckelmann said she told her husband’s story to make people aware of the possible “side effects” of the vaccine and that “it’s not good for everyone, and in the This affair destroyed a beautiful, perfect family life, and affected so many people in the community. ”
Dr Jerry L. Spivak, a specialist in blood disorders at Johns Hopkins University, who was not involved in Michael’s care, said, based on Neckelmann’s description, connected. ”
“This is going to be very rare,” said Spivak, a professor of medicine in medicine. But he said, “It happened, and it could happen again.”
Nevertheless, he said, it should not stop people from being vaccinated.
Michael’s developed condition, acute immune thrombocytopenia, occurs when the immune system attacks the patient’s own platelet or attacks the cells in the bone marrow that make up plaques. Covid itself can cause the condition in some patients.
A long list of medications, including quinine and some antibiotics, can cause the disorder in some people. Spivak described the reactions as “idiosyncratic,” meaning they hit some people with no rhyme or reason, perhaps based on unknown genetic markers, and there is no way to predict whether someone is liable.
“If you get enough vaccines, things will happen,” he said.
Vaccines stimulate the immune system, and in theory may, in rare cases, cause it to recognize some of the patient ‘s own cells as enemy invaders that should be destroyed.
Spivak said several things made the vaccine the most likely suspicion in Michael’s case. The disorder developed quickly after the painting and was so severe that it forced his plate to count “rocket” – a pattern that in some cases was triggered by drugs such as quinine. Moreover, Michael was healthy and young, compared to most people who develop chronic forms of the disease from other causes. Finally, the majority of patients – 70% – are women. A sudden case in a person, especially a relatively young, healthy man, suggests recent vigor.
Dr. Paul Offit, an expert on vaccines and infectious diseases at Philadelphia Children’s Hospital, said that the measles and mumps vaccine itself is known to cause this same clotting problem, but it is usually immobilized and not it’s not bad. It occurs in about one in 25,000 cases of measles, both in children and adults, he said.
Regarding Michael’s case, Offit said: “I don’t know what this is. We’ll keep our eyes peeled and see if it happens to anyone else. ” He said, “Right now we’re measuring. It is a society in time, but it may not be a causal society. ”
Dr William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University, said that while platelet disorder was linked to certain drugs, its link to vaccines was “a big question mark.”
He noted that millions of different types of vaccines are given each year, and that accumulations of this platelet disorder do not occur.
Spivak said there were many treatments for immune thrombocytopenia and that knowing more about Michael’s case could help doctors devise better treatment plans in case the disorder occurs in others after receiving the vaccine.