COVID-19: Mexican doctor admitted to ICU after receiving Pfizer vaccine

A female doctor in Mexico was admitted to ICU after receiving the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine a few days ago. Mexican authorities said they are investigating the matter after it was brought to their notice that the 32-year-old female doctor was admitted to hospital after receiving the Pfizer vaccine.

Mexican authorities are yet to reveal the name of the female doctor who is currently admitted at a public hospital in the northern state of Nuevo Leon. The doctor was admitted to the hospital after she experienced seizures, difficulty breathing and a skin rash.

“The initial diagnosis is encephalomyelitis,” the Health Ministry said in a statement released on Friday. Encephalomyelitis is an inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.

According to the Mexico Health Ministry, the doctor has a history of allergic reactions. The ministry noted that there is no evidence from clinical trials that anyone developed encephalomyelitis after receiving Pfizer vaccine.

Victor Hugo Borja, an IMSS director, was quoted as saying by Reuters that the doctor is responding favourably to treatment and had suffered no new seizures. According to Borja, the doctor has also recovered some of the lost muscle strength.

“Today, she’s been able to sit up and it’s possible she’ll be discharged in the following days,” said Borja at a news conference.

On Wednesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had said that it was keeping an eye on allergic reactions to the coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc. The CDC has also appealed to the people to not get the second dose after facing a serious allergy.