Of the 11 people reported to have died after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine in Korea until Monday, an initial government investigation has tentatively concluded that eight of the 11 deaths have no connection to the vaccine.

“The team judged that the patients died due to their previous underlying disease, as we found it hard to prove that the vaccination caused the adverse reactions and deaths,” said Kim Joong-gon, who leads a team investigating Covid-19 vaccination’s adverse events within Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

Based on the data collected and analyzed so far, the team has confirmed no findings presumed to be the reasons for the adverse reactions after vaccination at the time of death, Kim said.

The team also noted that the likelihood of death from exacerbation of underlying diseases, such as cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, epilepsy, is high, and had identified other presumed causes of death, such as cerebral hemorrhage, heart failure, myocardial infarction, sepsis, acute hepatitis.

The investigators have tentatively concluded it was difficult to recognize the causality between adverse reactions and death after vaccination.

Kim stressed that after analyzing the occurrence of adverse reactions in patients who had received the vaccine at the same institution, date, and serial number, the team confirmed no additional cases of serious adverse reactions.

“Therefore, we judged that there were no problems with the vaccine itself or in the vaccination process,” he said.

Kim noted that the investigation revealed that there were also no cases of death due to anaphylaxis.

Anaphylaxis is an abrupt systemic reaction caused by an antigen-antibody immune response, a kind of allergic reaction. Those who show anaphylaxis experience severe systemic reactions similar to shock, including acute respiratory distress, decreased blood pressure, and loss of consciousness under the influence of chemicals such as food or drugs.

“We investigated all eight fatalities to see if there were any cases of anaphylaxis and confirmed that there were no symptoms related to it,” Kim said. “While the team also reviewed whether there were symptoms related to any possible adverse reactions after vaccination at the time of the patients’ deaths, we found none.”

However, Kim noted that the National Forensic Service is conducting an autopsy on four deaths. The investigation team is also conducting its investigation on the other three fatalities reported on Monday.

“The team is conducting an epidemiological investigation into additionally reported deaths and serious cases,” Kim said. “We plan to operate an investigation team regularly and unveil any findings to the public.”