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The death of a vaccinated patient two weeks ago was from a pre-existing condition and not connected to the Covid-19 inoculation administered earlier, government health officials said on Friday.
There was no information about which vaccine was used. Thailand has so far taken delivery of 1.17 million does of vaccine, 1 million from Sinovac and 117,000 from AstraZeneca.
“I can insist that the side effects are 100 per cent not severe and 100 per cent non-fatal, based on the makers’ research,” said Anutin Charnvirakul, the public health minister.
The patient’s died from a ruptured aneurysm unrelated to any Covid-vaccination, said Dr Sophon Mekthon, assistant to the public health minister and chairman of a subcommittee on Covid-19 vaccine management.
The patient underwent surgery in December for an abdominal aortic aneurysm and left hospital in late January. He or she was vaccinated as part of a priority group at high risk on March 1.
On March 8 the patient felt tight in the chest and fell unconscious before being admitted to hospital the next day. The condition worsened until the patient died on March 13.
The Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said that 136,190 people were vaccinated between February 28 and March 26. Of those, 14,798 have already received their second dose. The roll-out will continue, Anutin said.
Daily numbers
The CCSA reported 134 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours on Friday.
Of those, 128 were local infections and six were found in quarantine facilities.
Of the 128 local infections, 41 were found via tests at medical facilities and 87 via proactive tests at high-risk communities.
This brings the total number of infections since the pandemic began last year to 28,577 cases. While 27,032 people have recovered from the disease, 1,453 patients are still being treated.
There was no new fatality, leaving the death toll at 92 people.
Clusters and provinces
The second wave of the outbreak has reached 66 out of the 77 provinces in Thailand so far. Of the 66 provinces, 39 have not reported any case in the past 28 days.
The hardest-hit province continues to be Samut Sakhon, which reported 17,052 confirmed cases since December 15.
This was followed by Bangkok (2,055), Pathumthani (760), Chonburi (658), Rayong (584), Samut Prakan (404), Chanthaburi (221), Tak (213), Nonthaburi (194), Nakhon Pathom (170) and Ang Thong (125), respectively.
Of the 128 local infections reported on Friday, 98 were found in Bangkok, followed by 17 in Samut Sakhon, five in Tak, five in Samut Prakan, two in Samut Songkhram and one in Pathumthani.