At least three elderly people in Taiwan have died shortly after receiving COVID-19 injections administered under the government’s priority inoculation program for senior residents, launched on Tuesday to deal with a recent wave of infections.

The latest case involved a 97-year-old woman, who was found unconscious at home in northern Hsinchu county around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, two hours after she had a jab at a clinic, Apple Daily Taiwan reported.

The woman, a chronic illness patient, was later certified dead. Authorities were investigating to determine if her death was linked to the vaccination.

Under the priority program, health officials are aiming to inoculate high-risk groups first in view of a shortage of vaccines.

Taichung city in central Taiwan started administering doses of AstraZeneca to people aged 85 or over on Tuesday, and subsequently reported that two recipients had died.

A woman found her 94-year-old husband dead at home on Wednesday morning, a day after getting a jab at a primary school.

Another woman, aged 90, developed a fever and then collapsed at her home on Tuesday, hours after she took a shot at a secondary school. Paramedics sent her to hospital but she was declared dead later in the day.

Taiwan is battling a spike in domestic infections that emerged in mid-May. On Wednesday, it reported 167 local COVID-19 cases and 18 deaths.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play