STURGIS — Two South Dakotans have died after receiving their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. State officials say the deaths are not related to the vaccine.
“We have received two reports thus far of deaths that occurred after COVID-19 vaccination. Neither have been reported to be caused by the vaccine administration,” said Daniel Bucheli, communications director for the South Dakota Department of Health.
The two deaths were a 50-59-year-old man in Pennington County and a 90-99-year-old woman in Hutchinson County.
Bucheli said one of the individuals had been infected with COVID-19, but was recovering when they received the vaccine.
Additionally, the deaths have been reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) — a program for vaccine safety, co-managed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.
“In our communication with medical providers/coroners as part our follow-up process, the vaccination did not contribute to the patients’ deaths,” Bucheli said.
Some social media posts in recent days have reported even more deaths they say are directly attributed to the vaccine.
Bucheli encouraged people to only get their information from trusted and verified sources.
“We are working around the clock to get the general public the most up-to-date information as it becomes available and for those on Facebook, please visit our Facebook page where we post information daily,” he said.
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