OC health care worker dies after receiving 2nd COVID-19 vaccine shot; official cause of death pending
Tim Zook’s final Facebook post shared his excitement about getting his second COVID-19 vaccine shot. His widow now thinks he may have suffered a fatal reaction to it. His official cause of death is still pending.
SANTA ANA, Calif. – An Orange County health care worker has died days after receiving his second dose of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, it was reported Tuesday.
Tim Zook, 60, worked as an X-ray technologist at South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana.
On January 5, Zook posted a photo of his COVID-19 vaccination card with the caption, “Never been so excited to get a shot before. I am now fully vaccinated after receiving my 2nd Pfizer dose.”
Just two hours after receiving his second dose he started experiencing abdominal pain and breathing difficulties.
“The doctor’s believe that his body reacted to something after he took the vaccine and they called it an inflammatory reaction,” said his wife Rochelle Zook.
The coroner has said the cause of death is inconclusive for now, and further toxicology testing will take months.
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His family said he had high blood pressure and was slightly overweight, but other than that, he was quite healthy.
Zook’s wife said husband was a proponent of the vaccine and that she does not blame any pharmaceutical company.
“He believed in vaccines. I’m sure he would take that vaccine again, and he’d want the public to take it,” she said.
OC healthcare worker dies after receiving second shot of COVID-19 vaccine
FOX 11’s Gina Silva spoke to the family of a man who died shortly after receiving his second dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
She said she believes there needs to be more research done in cases of severe reactions to the vaccines because although they are rare, they can be fatal in some cases.
Despite their tragic loss, the Zook family believes people still need to be vaccinated.
Zook’s death has been reported to the national Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, run by the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control. The Orange County coroner’s office told FOX 11 that if there is any correlation between his death and the vaccine, it will notify the OC Health Care Agency.
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This past weekend, health officials in Placer County reported that a person died hours after getting a COVID-19 vaccine, though they did not specify which vaccine the person received.
The individual had tested positive for COVID-19 in late December and was administered a COVID-19 vaccine several hours before their death on Jan. 21, 2021.
“There are multiple local, state, and federal agencies actively investigating this case; any reports surrounding the cause of death are premature, pending the outcome of the investigation,” the Placer County Sheriff-Coroner Division said in a statement.
The CDC has released information after learning of severe allergic reactions in some cases to the COVID-19 vaccine, and recommends if a person has ever had a severe allergic reaction to any ingredient in a COVID-19 vaccine,” then they “should not get that specific vaccine.”
This does not mean that everyone with bad allergies is barred from getting it.
“CDC recommends that people with a history of severe allergic reactions not related to vaccines or injectable medications—such as allergies to food, pet, venom, environmental, or latex—may still get vaccinated,” the CDC writes on its website.
“People with a history of allergies to oral medications or a family history of severe allergic reactions, or who might have a milder [sic] allergy to vaccines (no anaphylaxis)—may also still get vaccinated.”
This content was originally published here.