It is not possible to say that death in Jundiaí (SP) is linked to vaccination

Publications circulating on social media about the death of Guilherme Rian Barbosa Gomes, 20, are misleading when they claim that the young man died as a result of the coronavirus vaccine. Health agencies clarified that the case is still under investigation.

The suspicion was raised by Guilherme’s stepfather, who shared videos stating that his stepson had an epileptic seizure after the application of the first dose of Pfizer. The same would have happened after the second. Sought by Comprova, the man said he would not comment on the case, at the request of the boy’s mother.

Doing a search for his stepfather’s profile, we found that, after receiving the first dose of Pfizer on August 26, 2021, Guilherme suffered a few episodes of seizure, was hospitalized, but recovered. On November 30 of last year, five days after receiving the second dose, the boy had epileptic seizures and was admitted to the ICU of Hospital de Caridade São Vicente de Paulo, in Jundiaí (SP) on December 2. There, Guilherme died on March 10, 2022. Comprova did not have access to the boy’s death certificate. Neither the family nor the hospital provided information about the cause of death.

Jundiaí City Hall said the case is under investigation. The same was said by the São Paulo Health Department. Anvisa, which also analyzes what happened, said that other adverse events were reported in this death, however, the agency did not specify which they would be and reported that it has not yet completed the investigation. The Ministry of Health is also following the case. Sought, Pfizer said it was unaware of the case in question.

Misleading for Comprova is all content taken from the original context and used in another in such a way that its meaning is altered, confusing the public, with or without the deliberate intention to cause harm.

What the author of the publication says: The team reached out to the author of the post via an Instagram account. The Twitter profile, where the publication was made, does not allow sending messages. There was no response until publication.

How do we check: From the Twitter post, Comprova located the Instagram profile of Guilherme’s stepfather, Moises Aparecido Rodrigues, who, since December 2021, has shared his stepson’s health status on the social network.

The team contacted Anvisa, Pfizer, Ministry of Health, São Paulo State Health Department, Jundiaí City Hall and São Vicente de Paulo Hospital, where the young man was hospitalized, to understand if the case is being investigated and the that caused William’s death.

Guilherme’s stepfather was also sought by Comprova. However, he declined to give details about the case.

Comprova made this verification based on scientific information and official data on the new coronavirus and covid-19 available on March 17, 2022.

Investigation in progress

Asked about Guilherme’s care and death, Hospital São Vicente de Paulo reported that, due to the General Data Protection Law (LGPD), it is not possible to provide patient data or details of treatments given.

However, according to the hospital, there is no medical evidence, within the scope of the treatments given by São Vicente de Paulo, of death caused by adverse effects of the vaccine against Covid-19.

To Comprova, the city of Jundiaí informed that it carries out the epidemiological investigation of Guilherme’s case through the Health Promotion Management Unit (UGPS). Subsequently, the investigation will be forwarded to the São Paulo State Health Department, the body responsible for completing the analysis and, if necessary, to the National Health Surveillance System (SNVS).

According to the São Paulo State Health Department, the Epidemiological Surveillance Center (CVE) is monitoring and analyzing the occurrence of Jundiaí. The folder informed that all cases of adverse events are analyzed by a committee of experts before any confirmation and highlighted the safety and efficacy of vaccines.

“It is, therefore, hasty and irresponsible to say that the case of the municipality is associated with vaccination. Most of the time, the cases of post-vaccination adverse events are coincident, without any causal relationship with the immunizer”, he said, in a note.

Anvisa was already notified of the death, but reported that so far no evidence has been released to prove the relationship between death and vaccination. The case remains under investigation, according to the agency.

Sought, the Ministry of Health declared that the case is investigated by the health departments of the municipality and the State.

“All serious Post-Vaccination Adverse Events (AEPV) (of this case) are still under investigation by municipal and state AEFI surveillances and, so far, none of them have a confirmed causal relationship with the Covid-19 vaccines used”, he said.

Deaths from adverse effects

Pfizer informed that it was not notified of the death in Jundiaí and that the company monitors the reports received of adverse events from the product, always keeping the Brazilian health authorities informed.

According to the pharmaceutical company, all adverse reactions observed in clinical and post-marketing studies are available in the immunizer package insert and there are no safety warnings, so that the benefits of vaccination continue to outweigh any potential risk.

why do we investigate: Comprova checks suspicious content that has gone viral on social media or messaging apps about the Covid-19 pandemic, elections and public policies of the federal government. Contents that associate the vaccine with deaths in an unfounded way contribute to discredit the safety and effectiveness of immunizers. This can discourage the process of vaccinating the population, the main measure to combat the proliferation of the virus.

Comprova carried out this verification based on information available on March 17 of 2022.