Vaccine ruled out as cause of death in NorCal man who had COVID-19, officials say
By Mary Stringini
FOX 11 Los Angeles
PLACER COUNTY, Calif. - Authorities have determined that the coronavirus vaccine was not a contributing factor to a Northern California man's death at the beginning of the month, authorities said Saturday.
"Clinical examination and lab results have determined the COVID-19 vaccine has been ruled out as a contributing factor in the individual's death," the Placer County Sheriff's Office wrote in a post on Facebook.
Last week, the sheriff's department reported that a man died hours after getting a COVID-19 vaccine, though they did not specify which vaccine the person received.
RELATED: Stay up to date on all coronavirus-related information
Authorities say that the 64-year-old man was employed as a healthcare worker at a facility in Placer County. He began complaining of side effects within ten minutes of vaccination, which led to the sheriff's department's decision to inform the public of the investigation.
The department said Saturday that throughout their investigation, they learned that not only had he recently been diagnosed with COVID-19, he also had underlying health issues, and had been exhibiting symptoms of the illness at the time the vaccine was administered.
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"We would also like to take this moment to sincerely apologize for some of the Facebook comments made by our agency after we first informed the community of this incident," the sheriff's department wrote on Facebook. "We realize how they were taken by the public, and it should not have happened."
An investigation remains underway in Southern California after an Orange County health care worker died four days after receiving his second dose of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine. The coroner said that Tim Zook's cause of death is inconclusive for now, and further toxicology testing will take months. Zook, 60, worked as an X-ray technologist at South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana.
RELATED: OC health care worker dies after receiving 2nd COVID-19 vaccine shot; official cause of death pending