The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday, March 17, sought to ease concerns over the death of a health worker who recently got a jab against COVID-19, saying the person died because of the coronavirus disease itself, and not due to vaccination.

The DOH said in a joint statement with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that “an individual” who got vaccinated died on March 15, prompting an investigation with the regional and national committees on Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI).

The DOH confirmed to media that the individual was a health worker.

“Upon completion of the investigation following the 2019 WHO AEFI causality assessment methodology, the NAEFIC and RAEFIC concluded that the cause of the death was caused by COVID-19 itself, not by the COVID-19 vaccine,” the DOH and FDA said.

“COVID-19 vaccines cannot cause COVID-19,” they added.

The DOH and the FDA stressed that “vaccines are only one part of the solution in bringing the COVID-19 pandemic to an end.”

“Even with vaccines, people must continue with the important prevention measures already in place: wearing masks, maintaining physical distancing, washing hands frequently, and avoiding crowded places and settings,” they said.

The DOH and the DFA also urged health workers and other Filipinos to get vaccinated especially amid the “surge in COVID-19 cases” and reiterated that the benefits of getting the vaccine outweight the risks.

“Millions of people around the world have received this vaccine, and evidence continues to show that the benefit of vaccination outweighs the risk of severe disease and death caused by COVID-19,” they said. (READ: ‘Benefits outweigh risks’: PH to continue AstraZeneca jabs amid concerns in Europe)

Scientists have said that getting infected with COVID-19 remains a possibility even after receiving doses of the vaccine.

According to the US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), it typically takes a “few weeks for the body to build immunity (protection against the virus that causes COVID-19) after vaccination.” 

“That means it’s possible a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and still get sick. This is because the vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection,” the CDC said.

The DOH encouraged all health workers to get vaccinated as the country is experiencing surge in COVID 19 cases.

On March 1, the government began rolling out its COVID-19 vaccination program, among the last to do so in Southeast Asia.

The pandemic has so far infected over 120 million people globally. In the Philippines, a total of 635,698 cases were recorded as of Wednesday, with 12,866 deaths and 561,099 recoveries.

The Philippines has 61,733 active cases. – Rappler.com