KUALA LUMPUR: Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry was looking into the death of a 13-year old boy who collapsed and died 18 days after receiving his first vaccine dose.
When contacted today, Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry was investigating the claims by the boy's parents but he needed to looked at the post mortem reports before commenting further.
"Preliminary investigations show there were no reports made to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) and the boy had no side effects from the vaccination. He collapsed 18 days after his first dose," he said.
"We have done all necessary tests and postmortem. We need to wait for reports for a clearer picture," he said, adding that he was not able to elaborate without looking at the test results and the full report.
According to the boy's parents Naresh Kumar and Vijaya Rani, their son, Rivenesh Kumar suddenly collapsed and died 18 days after receiving his first dose on Jan 16 at the Klinik Kesihatan in Precint 18, Putrajaya.
A 11-minute video of the couple blaming vaccination to be the cause of their 13-year-old son's sudden death last month has gone viral, after the parents demanded an explanation from the Health Ministry.
According to Vijaya, her son was an active and healthy child who did not have any health problems since birth.
It is alleged Rivenesh died after he collapsed inside a lift while on his way to a karate lesson with his father that day.
The couple claimed Rivenesh had refused to get vaccinated but was coaxed by Vijaya who told him that he must take the vaccination, if he wanted to study and become a policeman.
"Even on the day when I took him for the vaccination, I checked with the doctor who consulted us before allowing my son to be vaccinated, and he too said that there were no major risks but just some side effects like fever, headache and nausea.
"The doctor said it is 100 percent safe and signed off my son for the vaccination process in another room. The process went smoothly and upon reaching home I gave Rivenesh panadol as advised by the nurse, as a precaution," she said.
Naresh said when his son collapsed he rushed the boy to the hospital but he was pronounced dead.
"What disturbs me the most is that the hospital was unable to determine cause of my son's death, despite carrying out a postmortem."
Vijaya said the death certificate issued by the Kajang Hospital stated the cause as 'pending' without giving any further explanation.
"The doctor who conducted the postmortem could identify his last meal but surprisingly was not able to determine the cause of his death.
"They told us it would take about six months before they could ascertain the actual cause of death," Vijaya said, demanding for a thorough investigation into her son's death.
"We deserve to know what actually happened. I don't want any other parent to go through the pain we are experiencing now... Please," she's heard saying at the end of the video.