Recent claims that an 81-year-old man had passed away from a heart attack due to vaccine complications are false, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

MOH announced in a press release today (April 15) that "there is no credible evidence for an increased risk of heart attack or stroke with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines which are currently approved and offered in Singapore".

The elderly man's cause of death was ischaemic heart disease — lack of blood circulation to the heart muscles.

A post-mortem examination determined that there was no evidence of acute anaphylaxis or an allergic reaction at the injection site of the Covid-19 vaccine.

However, there was extensive narrowing of the three main blood vessels which supplied blood to the muscles of the man's heart due to atherosclerosis (build up of plaques over time in the blood vessels that obstruct blood flow), said MOH.

"Covid-19 vaccines that are used in Singapore have been assessed to be safe and efficacious by both the Health Sciences Authority and the Expert Committee on Covid-19 Vaccination," stressed the ministry.

Where did the claim originate?

A woman on Facebook claimed earlier this month that her 81-year-old father became breathless, turned pale, and broke out in cold sweat in the evening of April 6. He passed away after he was conveyed to the Accident & Emergency (A&E) Department of a hospital.

According to the Facebook user, the doctors later informed her that her father had suffered a heart attack.

The woman also claimed that her father received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine earlier that day.

The Minister for Health directed the POFMA office to issue Correction Directions against People's Power Party leader Goh Meng Seng and website Singapore Uncensored.

Goh had implied that the Covid-19 vaccination had caused or substantially contributed to the death of the 81-year-old man while Singapore Uncensored stated that the elderly man had passed away from alleged vaccination complications.

Top photo by Hakan Nural on Unsplash