Joshua Henry, the 14-year-old schoolboy died because of bleeding in his brain, according to the autopsy conducted on his body.
Joshua of Kamwatta, Moruca, Region One, died on Monday about 90 minutes after he was administered the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. This led to concerns that the vaccine led to his death and as such, a senior team from the Ministry of Health, including Senior Pathologist Dr. Nehaul SIngh was dispatched to investigate the matter.
But, a press release issued by the Ministry of Health following the autopsy stated that there was no scarring or hematoma (a collection of blood under the skin) found near the vaccination site.
Instead, the ministry said that the boy’s cause of death is a ruptured cerebral (or brain) aneurysm, that led to cerebral haemorrhage. This aneurysm, the ministry said, was a pre-existing condition.
In simpler terms, an aneurysm occurs when a bulge forms in a blood vessel in the brain and fills with blood. The Cleveland clinic in the United States says that aneurysms often produce no symptoms unless they burst open or leak blood. If that happens, a severe headache and or a fatal stroke may occur.
In Joshua’s case, the ministry reported that the ruptured aneurysm led to brain bleed.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday morning, the boy’s aunt Thalica Peters told the News Room that he opted to take the vaccine because he was very anxious and excited to get back to school.
She, however, lamented that health officials did not explain the boy’s cause of death to them in simple terms and as such, the distressed family was left wondering what the given cause of death meant.
