Teen who lifted weights 6 days after jab suffers cardiac arrest

A 16-year-old youth collapsed following a weightlifting session six days after his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine.

In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that the teenager is currently in critical condition in the intensive care unit at the National University Hospital (NUH).

He received his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on June 27, and was assessed by trained healthcare personnel to be suitable for vaccination at the time, said a ministry spokesman.

The teen was observed on-site for about 30 minutes following his vaccination and was well during the time.

According to the spokesman, the teenager was also well for the following five days after his vaccination.

Last Saturday, he went to the gym to lift weights. The teen trained with "very heavy weights which were above his body weight", the spokesman added.

He collapsed at home later that morning, and was taken to the emergency department at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, which alerted the ministry to the incident.

He was transferred to NUH later that evening.

MOH's spokesman said the ministry is currently in contact with the medical team at NUH that is providing close medical care for the patient.

"The preliminary diagnosis of his condition is an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Clinical and laboratory tests are in progress to understand the underlying cause," said the spokesman.

He added that MOH will work with the medical team in NUH to determine if the incident might be linked to the teen's Covid-19 vaccination.

This investigation will include a thorough consideration of whether there was acute severe myocarditis, which is severe inflammation of the heart muscles affecting the heart function.

The expert committee on Covid-19 vaccination will also monitor the outcome of this investigation.