CDC issues statement on investigation into death of 13-year-old Michigan boy
SAGINAW, Mich - The Centers for Disease Control is investigating after a 13-year-old boy from Saginaw, Michigan died just days after reportedly receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
Martha Sharan with the CDC released the following statement:
CDC is aware of a 13-year-old boy in Michigan who died after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. This case is currently under investigation and until the investigation is complete, it is premature to assign a specific cause of death. When a serious adverse event, like death, is reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) after COVID-19 vaccination, CDC requests and reviews all medical records associated with the case, including death certificates, and autopsy reports. The determination of the cause of death is done by the certifying official who completes the death certificate or the pathologist who conducts the autopsy. VAERS is not designed to determine if the vaccine caused the reported adverse event. While some reported adverse events may be caused by vaccination, others are not and may have occurred coincidentally.
The Saginaw County Health Department says it received a death notification from the Saginaw Medical Examiner's office on June 17.
The Saginaw County Medical Examiner tells Mid-Michigan now it may be several months until a cause of death is determined due to toxicology results.
Mid-Michigan NOW asked the CDC when we know the exact cause of death of the 13-year-old and we received the following statement:
Normally when CDC meets with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (the next schedule meeting will be posted here: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/index.html it reports its findings, in a summary fashion, not by individual cases; CDC will also be publishing a paper in MMWR on myocarditis. I don’t have a target date for that paper yet.
This website is also updated with new information on several conditions that CDC is closely monitoring, like anaphylaxis, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia and myocarditis: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html
The health department says the loss of life in an adolescent for any reason is heartbreaking and released the following statement:
Health officer Chris Harrington, MPH, and medical director Delicia Pruitt, MD, are mothers of children near the boy’s age, so it hits close to home for them.
Throughout the pandemic, Harrington and Pruitt have repeatedly encouraged residents of Saginaw to make informed decisions about their health – whether to attend gatherings, send children to in-person learning, or to be vaccinated. They have sought out local experts, answered questions, and advised everyone to talk to their physician to make the most informed decision based on personal risks versus benefits.
