A Chinese-made vaccine for COVID-19 had no direct links to the death of a 63-year-old Hong Kong man who took it last week, a government-appointed expert panel has said.

The man’s case was the first death in Hong Kong involving a recipient of the vaccine produced by mainland Chinese drugmaker Sinovac. He was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for breathing difficulties on Sunday and died on the same day. He had received the Sinovac vaccine last Friday.

The man suffered from a number of chronic diseases, including high blood pressure, high lipid levels and obesity, the government’s expert committee tasked with monitoring medical events involving COVID vaccinations said on Wednesday.

Preliminary autopsy findings showed that the man might have suffered from coronary heart disease, which probably triggered a heart attack and pulmonary oedema that led to respiratory failure and eventually his death, according to the committee’s convenor, Ivan Hung, a clinical professor at the University of Hong Kong’s medical department.

The panel agreed that the Sinovac vaccine had no direct links to the man’s death, and a full autopsy was currently being conducted in order to make a final conclusion, Hung said.

In the meantime, Hong Kong would continue using Sinovac jabs in its citywide vaccination program that included elderly people and high-risk groups, the committee said.

Hong Kong authorities last month approved Sinovac vaccines for emergency use in the city after exempting the mainland company from the criterion of publishing its phase three clinical trial data in medical journals. The rare move raised concerns among Hongkongers, including medical workers, about the vaccine’s efficacy and safety.

Health authorities made the 63-year-old’s case public in the early hours of Wednesday, three days after the man died. Officials denied suggestions that they did not look into the man’s vaccination record until Apple Daily made related inquiries to hospitals.

A woman who claimed to be a friend of the man told the newspaper on Tuesday that he died after receiving the Sinovac vaccine. She said the government’s clinics should not have allowed chronically ill patients to be vaccinated.

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