THE Cagayan de Oro City Government opened its investigation on the 73-year-old man who died after receiving his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 Wednesday morning, May 12.
According to Dr. William Bernardo, the head of the task force on database management, the senior citizen identified as Zoilo Joaquin Borcillo was pronounced dead on arrival at the JR Borja General Hospital minutes after he got his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine past 11 a.m.
Based on the pre-registration data of Borcillo, the man indicated that he is a senior citizen with comorbidities, which was why he was included in Wednesday's vaccination rollout.
"Upon pre-registration and examination, as well as counseling, it was seen there was a slight elevation of BP of around 150 over 80 but within the range, that is acceptable by the Department of Health," Bernardo said.
When Borcillo, accompanied by his son, was interviewed by the doctor on the vaccination site at the SM CDO Downtown Premier, it was shown that he had some maintenance medications for hypertension and benign prostatic hypertrophy. The doctor mentioned that the senior citizen was ambulatory and does not look sickly by physical appearance.
Nine minutes after receiving his dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, however, Borcillo developed difficulty in breathing while he was in the observation area. He was transported to the JR Borja General Hospital six minutes later and was pronounced dead.
"We will have this thoroughly investigated para ma determine kung unsa ba gyuy nahitabo," Mayor Oscar Moreno said during the daily press briefing at the city hall on the same day.
"In the meantime, ang atong vaccination continues," he added.
He reminded the vaccinees to tell everything to the doctor during the interview and to ask for clearance from their attending physician.
According to Moreno, they received reports that Borcillo must have undergone open heart surgery but it was not mentioned in the pre-registration, and neither was it mentioned in the interview.
"I don't want to put blames on anyone but ang nakita ani nga problema gyud kay wala man gi-disclose nga naa syay open heart surgery. That was not known by the doctor who examined him," Moreno said.
"Ang lesson diha, katong mga vaccinees, isulti lang gyud ang tinood," he added.