16-year-old boy who suffered suspected cardiac arrest after Covid-19 jab out of ICU, condition stable: MOH

SINGAPORE — The 16-year-old boy who was in critical condition after a suspected cardiac arrest six days after his first Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine jab is now out of the intensive care unit.

The Ministry of Health said on Thursday (July 15) in response to TODAY’s queries: “The patient has been transferred from the intensive care unit to a high dependency ward in the coronary care unit for close monitoring and observation.

“His medical condition remains stable. We are still investigating the underlying cause.”

The Government's Covid-19 task force said previously that apart from possible complications from vaccination, it is looking into whether health supplements might have contributed to the boy's cardiac arrest.

A cardiac arrest is an abrupt electrical malfunction in the heart that causes it to pump ineffectively, resulting in vital organs being unable to receive blood and oxygen.

MOH said: “Our priority is the well-being of the patient and he is under the close medical care of an excellent team in the National University Hospital and our hopes and well wishes are with him and his family for a steady recovery.” 

The ministry also reiterated that the recent demise of a 16-year-old whose obituary made its rounds in chat groups was not vaccine-related. “He had not received any doses of Covid-19 vaccine.”

The ministry had put up a Facebook post on Wednesday evening saying that it was aware of talk on Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp chat groups featuring an obituary, leading to conjecture that a teenager died from a severe adverse event related to the coronavirus vaccine.

“We wish to clarify that the demise mentioned in these posts and messages was not vaccine-related.”

It added: “We urge the public not to spread unsubstantiated information that may add to the family's grief or cause public alarm.” 

On Thursday, it stressed that the case is unrelated to the 16-year-old male patient that is now out of intensive care, who had collapsed after a strenuous gym workout.