A woman has died after getting the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine in New Zealand.
The country has reported it as the first coronavirus vaccine death.
The woman died from myocarditis after being given the Pfizer jab, a health board monitoring vaccine safety said on Monday.
Director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield said myocarditis is a “very rare side-effect” and vaccination was much safer than the risk of being infected with Covid-19.
The board said the woman probably developed the condition because of the vaccine, although she had other medical issues which may have contributed to her death.
Covid-19 Vaccine Independent Safety Monitoring Board said in a statement: “This is the first case in New Zealand where a death in the days following vaccination has been linked to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
“While the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring has received other reports of deaths in someone recently vaccinated, none are considered related to vaccination.”
More than two million New Zealanders have received the coronavirus vaccine.
Official details including the woman’s age and date of her death have yet to be made public.
A coroner has yet to rule on the case.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Auckland will remain in a strict lockdown for at least two more weeks.
The rest of the country faces another week of lockdown as it battles the outbreak of the Delta variant.
