Hamilton’s fitness officer said a rider in Hamilton died after contracting COVID-19, even with two doses of vaccine.
Dr Elizabeth Richardson said the incident was “very unfortunate” and also said dying after being fully vaccinated was “very, very rare”.
Hamilton Public Health has shared key points about the case, raising privacy concerns.
“A lot of times it’s similar to a disease that the user already has,” Richardson told reporters Monday.
It is not known how old the victim was, how and when he became infected, or what caused his death.
Public Health Ontario reports that of the 9,413,440 people who gained a dose between Dec. 14 and June 12, only 32 people died after being vaccinated. Most of those 32 patients were 80 or older.
The same report shows, of the 355,472 people who got a shot in Hamilton, only 0.18 per cent tested positive after one vaccine dose and only 0.02 per cent tested positive after a second dose.
Richardson said that while no vaccine is perfect, they are very effective against the virus and that other people still deserve to get vaccinated. He said other people should monitor any symptoms after vaccination and seek trigger treatment if needed.
The number of cases in the city has declined in recent weeks, with only 12 new infections reported on Monday. The weekly average is 14 cases, one of the lowest figures in months. Only 31 other people infected with the virus are hospitalized.
Dr. Dominik Mertz, medical director of infections at Hamilton Health Sciences, said context is vital when talking about remote incidents like this death.
He said the small number of people inflamed after being vaccinated have avoided more serious effects thanks to the vaccines.
Dr. Zain Chagla, the co-medical director of infection control and an infectious diseases physician at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, said people may not realize it but the vaccines have saved thousands of people.
“There’s a paradox in public health: If what you’re doing works, other people don’t see the effects because you avoided something, and no one ever sees the effects of prevention,” he said.
“Take your car to the shop for maintenance, you’ll never see your car break down on the side of the road, but you won’t forget the pain of that service. “
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