56-Year-old Greek Woman Dies Minutes After Second Pfizer Vaccine

A 56-year-old Greek woman died at Kalavryta Hospital just a few minutes after her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

The middle-aged woman, who was vaccinated during her 10:00 AM appointment in the morning of Friday at the hospital was pronounced dead just a few minutes after she received her second inoculation with the Pfizer coronavirus inoculation.

As is normal procedure, the woman was sitting in a separate area while she was monitored for negative developments that can occur after the vaccine administration.

Just ten minutes after she was vaccinated, she complained of a “burning” pain in her chest and her back, and collapsed.

Doctors on the scene tried to revive the woman, and even to intubate her, but stopped their frantic efforts one hour after she collapsed.

Woman may have suffered a heart attack, pulmonary edema

Reports say that it is possible that she had suffered a heart attack, along with pulmonary edema, or a filling of the lungs with fluid. There was no positive response from any of the hour-long efforts to resuscitate her.

The 57-year-old also reportedly suffered from underlying diseases. The medical examiner’s office, which is now conducting a thorough review of her case, will disclose their findings at a later date.

The woman’s death is particularly poignant since she and her husband had moved from the capital city of Athens to the village of Kertezi, Kalavrita, in order to feel safer during the pandemic.

She and her husband had left their permanent residence in Athens an entire year ago and had moved to the house they kept in Kertezi, in order to live in what they considered an environment that would allow them to avoid becoming infected.

Vaccine given to woman who was known to suffer from allergies

According to Greek press reports, the 56-year-old had already lost one of her two children in a car accident several years ago.

An unidentified resident of the small village spoke to interviewers from the Patras Times, saying “At the moment I am in the hospital in Kalavrita. Here they say that the woman left from an allergic shock, but we will wait for the official announcements.”

The woman was said to have had allergies, but the authorities “did not manage to offer her the slightest help,” according to the report.

She had two children, one of whom she had lost in a car accident and the other lived on Cyprus.

“We are all shocked. People left Athens a year ago, where they lived permanently to protect themselves from the coronavirus and now that has happened. Her husband is from Kertezi, in fact they had decided to stay here permanently.

“Unfortunately, the woman passed away at a young age, and unjustly.”

Fifty fewer coronavirus cases on Friday, continuing downward trend

Greece recorded 469 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, which marks  50 fewer instances of the virus than the 519 cases that had been recorded on Thursday.

Just two of Thursday’s total cases were identified during routine Covid-19 testing of tourists at the country’s borders, the same number as had been reported yesterday.

This brings the overall total of cases, including all those who have recovered from the disease, to 417,706, of which 51.2% are men.

Based on the confirmed cases of the last 7 days, 26 are considered related to travel from abroad and 951 are related to an already known case.

Currently, there are 307 Greek citizens undergoing the invasive process of intubation, with 65.5% of these being male. Their median age is 67 years. 85% suffer from an underlying disease and/or are age 70 years and older. Since the beginning of the pandemic, a total of 2,602 patients have been discharged from the ICU.

This represents 14 fewer intubated people than yesterday.

Tragically, 20 people suffering from the coronavirus passed away in the country over the past 24-hour period, which represents an increase of four over those who had died with the virus on Thursday.

Since the beginning of the epidemic, a total of 12,514 deaths associated with the virus have been recorded. 95.2% of the victims suffered from underlying disease and/or were age 70 years and older.

Door opened for mandatory vaccine for Greek healthcare workers

In other breaking coronavirus news on Friday, Greece’s National Bioethics Committee approved the mandatory vaccination for some workers as “last resort.”

The ruling apparently paves the way for a mandatory vaccine for healthcare professionals and workers in nursing homes as a last resort to protect vulnerable populations.

In their report, which was published on Friday evening, the committee proposed three measures as part of what it described as an “escalating” approach to convince workers to obtain their vaccine before resorting to forcing them to do so.

First, targeted information campaigns stressing voluntary vaccination, based on up-to-date scientific data, should be the initial course of action.

The committee added that this should be followed by measures to encourage inoculation that could be designed in cooperation with hospital administrations, including the facilitation of vaccine appointments, giving flexibility in working hours on the days they are to receive the vaccine, priority in the selection of days off, or even just the mandatory use of a double mask for those who are not vaccinated.

Requiring inoculations woful due the very last resort, the report said. Any mandatory vaccinations should have a specific timeframe and should be implemented if the previous approaches do not lead to a significant increase in the vaccination rate.

The Committee’s report had been requested by the Prime Minister’s office.