Cambodia launched its nation-wide campaign on 10 February three days after the first arrival of China-donated COVID19 vaccines. Few have raised concerns over the effectiveness of the Chinese Vaccines and as a result, a large wave of misinformation regarding the vaccines have surfaced.
On a similar note, it was claimed that a 39-year-old doctor working at the Siem Reap Provincial Referral Hospital died on 2 March due to vaccination with Sinopharm. However, our investigation revealed that the doctor’s his death was not due to the vaccination, but to a long-standing medical condition.
Social Media Claim
Seang Tola, a doctor at the Siem Reap Provincial Referral Hospital died in the early hours of March 3; several hours after he got the first dose of Chinese COVID19 vaccine, Sinopharm. Some Facebook users claimed that the 39-year-old doctor’s death was caused as a reaction to Chinese vaccine.
The English translation of a Facebook post read as “News about Chinese vaccine drive from Siem Reap province 3rd March, 2021. Cambodians inside the country please do not inject with Chinese vaccines. Doctor Seang Tola, 39, residing at Phumi Thmey, Svay Dangkum commune, Siem Reap province, died at 3 a.m. after getting the vaccine yesterday 2nd March.”
Another Facebook user’s post read as “The doctor was difficult to breath and died hours after being injected with the first dose of Chinese vaccine…If he was diagnosed with history of heart illness, he would not be vaccinated with the Chinese vaccine. Do not lie us. On the other hand, how couldn’t he know if he had heart attack as he is a doctor?”
Yet another Facebook post read as “The doctor and a teacher died after both of them were injected with Chinese vaccines. The doctor was injected the first dose of Chinese vaccine on 1st March and then died, yet it was reported that he had blood vessel issue. The teacher was injected with the first drive of Chinese vaccine on 16th February and then died. It was published that she was diagnosed with meningitis.”
Fact Check
We started our investigation into this claim by reviewing press releases and announcement publicly made by the health authorities in the Siem Reap province and talking with the deceased’s family as well as medical expert.
By reviewing relevant health institutions, we found the Siem Reap Provincial Referential Hospital published a press release on 3rd March, saying doctor Sean Tola’s death is not related to injection of Chinese COVID19 vaccines.
Tola, also a doctor at the hospital, had a heart ailment, but that had no problem preventing him from getting a dose of Chinese vaccine on 1st March, according to the press release.
The hospital states that he was injected with Chinese vaccine Sinopharm around 3 p.m. at his workplace and then returned to work as normal until 5 p.m. before his departure for home.
“His wife and colleagues asserted he had been difficult to breath during bed time and faced sleep apnea in the last week. He had experienced chest pain and went to have electrocardiogram” the press release says, adding “In short, he had problem with heart vessels as stated above.”
The press release continues, “In conclusion, Doctor Seang Tola died immediately due to myocardial infarction and [his death] is not related to the vaccination.”
Khut Rany, 38, wife of the doctor Seang Tola, rejected claims on social media as well, saying her husband did not die because of Chinese-made vaccination dose.
“For me, I cannot claim that it is because of the vaccination because many people in Cambodia have got the vaccination too, but why are they fine? So, I do not think my husband died of vaccination; maybe because of his health condition,” Rany told FC Cambodia via phone interview a day after the funeral, adding her husband has worked many long hours because he oversaw his own private clinic as well.
Further, Fact Crescendo Cambodia also talked to medical expert Eab Bunloeun who is also the Deputy Director of Siem Reap Provincial Department of Health. Bunloeun explained that Tola’s death is not related to reaction of Chinese vaccine, saying the death happened many hours after the vaccination.
“Medically, the vaccine reaction could happen within 30 minutes after the injection.” Bunloeun told FC Cambodia on 3rd March, adding none of the over 1,000 people who were injected with Chinese vaccines reported any critical reaction, other than the expected minor feverish conditions.
Claims saying that people died after vaccination with Chinese dose has happened other parts of the world too. The most recent report of fact checking made by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) said doctors found no links between death and vaccination in several countries.
Conclusion: Fact Crescendo found above-mentioned posts as false. The concerned doctor’s death is due to myocardial infarction, according to explanation in the hospital’s press release. A medical expert also explained that the death of the doctor happened several after the vaccination, and the effects of the vaccine are mostly seen within half an hour of the injection.
Title:Fact Check: A Siem Reap-based doctor did not die due to Chinese vaccination
Fact Check By: JimmyResult: Misleading
