Two South Korean citizens, who had multiple underlying diseases, died after receiving AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, media reported on Wednesday, citing officials.

Both people were receiving treatment at long-term care hospitals in Gyeonggi, which form the Seoul Capital Area.

According to state news agency Yonhap, the first person was in their 50s.

Hours after being vaccinated on Tuesday morning, the patient began to show symptoms of heart failure and experienced difficulty in breathing but recovered after receiving emergency care.

However, the symptoms recurred the next morning and led to the person’s death.

The second person — a 63-year-old man with cerebrovascular disease — died on Wednesday morning, four days after receiving the injection.

He had shown severe symptoms such as a high fever and pain all over the body since the day following the vaccination.

Health officials have not established whether side effects from the vaccine caused the deaths, the news agency added.

South Korea uses the AstraZeneca vaccine for medical staff and patients in nursing homes but banned it for senior citizens aged 65 and older.

Data on the vaccine’s effects on the latter was insufficient. 

(Sputnik/NAN)