Health care worker dies after receiving 2nd COVID-19 vaccine shot

An California health care worker has died days after receiving his second dose of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, it was reported Tuesday.

The coroner has said the cause of death is inconclusive for now, and further toxicology testing will take months.

Tim Zook, 60, worked as an X-ray technologist at South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana.

On January 5, Zook posted a photo of his COVID-19 vaccination card with the caption, “Never been so excited to get a shot before. I am now fully vaccinated after receiving my 2nd Pfizer dose.”

Just two hours after receiving his second dose he started experiencing abdominal pain and breathing difficulties. His health spiraled downward and he died four days later.

“The doctors believe that his body reacted to something after he took the vaccine and they called it an inflammatory reaction,” said his wife of 27 years, Rochelle. “It was so intense that it started attacking major organs and he never had a chance to recover.”

His family said he had high blood pressure and was slightly overweight, but other than that, he was quite healthy. 

Zook’s wife said her husband was a proponent of the vaccine and that she does not blame any pharmaceutical company.

“He believed in vaccines. I’m sure he would take that vaccine again, and he’d want the public to take it,” she said.

She said she believes there needs to be more research done in cases of severe reactions to the vaccines because although they are rare, they can be fatal in some cases.

Despite their tragic loss, the Zook family believes people still need to be vaccinated.  

“The message is: Take the vaccine because it is far more greater to die from COVID than to die from a result of a vaccine,” said Rochelle.

Zook’s death has been reported to the national Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, run by the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control. The Orange County coroner’s office told FOX 11 that if there is any correlation between his death and the vaccine, it will notify the OC Health Care Agency.