Relief payment for Taipei woman's death after getting a COVID vaccine jab reaches NT$6 million

台北婦女接種新冠疫苗後死亡，獲救濟金600萬新台幣

A teenager was awarded a relief fund of NT$25,000 for a myocarditis diagnosis that was judged to be related to taking a BNT dose


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taipei City woman’s death has been judged to be connected with a COVID-19 vaccine shot, and the NT$6 million (US$210,000) relief payment approved for the loss is the highest in the country’s vaccine injury compensation history.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s (MOHW) Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) held a meeting on March 10 to discuss 57 COVID-19 vaccine Injury compensation cases, CNA reported.

The VICP approved vaccine injury relief payments for seven cases out of the 57. They include two cases involving the Moderna vaccine that would receive relief funds between NT$25,000 and NT$300,000, four involving the Astra-Zeneca (AZ) vaccine that would receive between NT$6,000 and NT$6 million in relief payments, and one involving the Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT) vaccine with an approved fund of NT$25,000, according to the CNA report.

The case awarded with the approved NT$6 million fund was a Taipei City woman in her 50s, who died of Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) after receiving a dose of the AZ vaccine, per CNA. According to the VICP’s case report, the individual had no history of chronic diseases or pre-existing conditions to induce TTS.

Central Epidemic Command Center Spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said that the relief fund approved for the woman’s case was the maximum legally allowed amount and the highest in the country’s vaccine injury compensation history.

Even though the Taipei woman was not the first case to have died after taking a COVID-19 vaccine, it was the first case where the cause of death was judged by experts to be connected to the COVID-19 vaccination, Chuang said. He added that such a connection could not be determined in all other cases who died after taking a COVID vaccine shot, and approved relief payments for these cases were around NT$500,000, per CNA.

The spokesman pointed out that one of the seven cases awarded relief funds was a teenager, who suffered from symptoms including palpitations and chest discomfort four days after taking a BNT dose. The teen was diagnosed with myocarditis, which was judged to be related to receiving the BNT dose, Chuang said, adding that he was awarded NT$25,000.