Health Ministry officer died from heart failure, not Covid-19 vaccine, says Dr Noor Hisham

PUTRAJAYA: The death of Health Ministry senior officer Dr Chai Koh Meow was due to heart failure, and not from his Covid-19 vaccination, says Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The Health director-general said based on the post-mortem report, Dr Chai's cause of death was hemopericardium due to coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction.

"The ministry would like to express condolences to Dr Chai's family and we thank them for allowing us to share the post-mortem results with the public.

"We are deeply saddened by Dr Chai's passing. He was a dedicated and hardworking staff member," he said at a press conference with Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin here.

Khairy said he hoped that the clarification would put an end to speculation surrounding Dr Chai's death.

"If there is a death case caused by vaccination, we will definitely share the findings. We are transparent.

"Hopefully, this will stop all speculation and that the public will take booster doses to improve their immunity.

"Studies have shown that the benefit of vaccines far outweighs the risks," said Khairy.

Dr Chai died on Nov 17. He was a senior principal assistant director of the Traditional and Complementary Medicine Division.

He received his Covid-19 booster dose on Nov 9 and did not report any unusual side effects.

Meanwhile, Khairy said the ministry had approved eight applications for compensation due to sufferers of Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI).

The total amount of compensation paid is RM132,500.

Khairy said another 56 applications are currently under evaluation, while another seven have been rejected as they are not categorised as serious AEFI cases.

Under the compensation fund, individuals requiring extended hospitalisation due to a vaccine reaction are eligible for RM50,000, or RM500,000 if this results in permanent disability or death.