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Autopsy findings of post-COVID-19 vaccination deaths in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan, 2021.
Suzuki, Hideto; Ro, Ayako; Takada, Aya; Saito, Kazuyuki; Hayashi, Kino.
  • Suzuki H; Tokyo Medical Examiner's Office, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: hideto-@qk9.so-net.ne.jp.
  • Ro A; Tokyo Medical Examiner's Office, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Legal Medicine, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
  • Takada A; Tokyo Medical Examiner's Office, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Forensic Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan; Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan.
  • Saito K; Tokyo Medical Examiner's Office, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Forensic Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan; Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan.
  • Hayashi K; Tokyo Medical Examiner's Office, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo, Japan.
Leg Med (Tokyo) ; 59: 102134, 2022 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1996409
ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

COVID-19 vaccines have been used across Japan since 17 February 2021, and as of 17 April 2022, 1690 deaths potentially caused by vaccine-related adverse effects have been reported to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. However, the causal relationship between vaccination and death could not be fully evaluated because of a lack of sufficient information.

METHODS:

Autopsy cases in which deaths occurred within seven days after COVID-19 vaccination in Tokyo Metropolis and were handled by medical examiners were selected (n = 54). Age, sex, vaccine-related information, cause of death, and possible causal relationship between vaccination and death were examined.

RESULTS:

The mean age of the deceased individuals was 68.1 years, and the study sample consisted of 34 males (63.9%) and 20 females (37.0%). Thirty-seven and six individuals received Comirnaty and Spikevax, respectively (68.5% and 11.1% respectively). The manner of death included natural (n = 43), non-natural (n = 8), and undetermined (n = 3). The most frequent cause of death was ischemic heart disease (n = 16). Regarding causal relationships, 46 cases (85.2%) did not show a causal relationship to vaccination, except for myocarditis (n = 3), thrombosis-related death (n = 4), and others (n = 1).

CONCLUSION:

Although many cases of deaths after COVID-19 vaccination in this study showed no definite causal relationship between the vaccination and deaths, some cases showed possible adverse events such as myocarditis. Autopsies are essential for detecting vaccine-related deaths, and the Japanese death investigation system needs to be reinforced from this viewpoint.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: COVID-19 / Myocarditis Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study Topics: Long Covid / Vaccines Limits: Aged / Female / Humans / Male Country/Region as subject: Asia Language: English Journal: Leg Med (Tokyo) Journal subject: Jurisprudence Year: 2022 Document Type: Article

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: COVID-19 / Myocarditis Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study Topics: Long Covid / Vaccines Limits: Aged / Female / Humans / Male Country/Region as subject: Asia Language: English Journal: Leg Med (Tokyo) Journal subject: Jurisprudence Year: 2022 Document Type: Article