'Flu Vaccine Death' Bereaved Family's National Petition... KDCA Apologizes for Unauthorized Briefing

On the 26th, the family of a teenage high school student who died after receiving a flu vaccine posted a petition on the Blue House National Petition website, asking for justice regarding the younger sibling's death. Photo by Blue House National Petition post capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] The bereaved family of high school student A from Incheon, who died two days after receiving a flu vaccine, appealed to the Blue House's national petition to clear their grievances, claiming that the investigative authorities did not investigate the connection between the vaccine and the death. Meanwhile, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reiterated that A's death was not directly related to the vaccination.

According to multiple media outlets, the KDCA stated on the 27th, "We received the autopsy results related to the death case from the National Police Agency on the afternoon of the 23rd."

On that day, the National Forensic Service reportedly notified the police that a lethal amount of nitrite was detected in A's body during the autopsy. Nitrite is commonly used as a coloring and antioxidant agent in processed meat products, but ingestion of a lethal dose (4-6g for adults) can cause severe respiratory distress.

Additionally, the KDCA responded to the bereaved family’s claims made through the Blue House national petition regarding personal information leakage and demands for state compensation.

Previously, on the 26th, A’s family posted a petition titled "Please clear the injustice of my younger brother’s death" on the Blue House national petition board.

The petitioner stated, "According to the National Forensic Service autopsy results, a lethal amount of nitrite was detected in large quantities in my brother’s stomach," and added, "They are trying to close the case without investigating the correlation with the flu vaccine, labeling it as suicide or homicide."

They further explained, "My brother was seen laughing and talking with friends on his way home from the study room the day before he died," and said, "There is no reason for suicide. There is no reason for homicide, nor were there any signs of homicide in the autopsy results."

They continued, "It is unbelievable that the National Forensic Service claims there is no possibility that my brother’s death is related to the flu vaccine. It is unbelievable that the flu vaccine had no influence on his death," and appealed, "I want to clear the injustice surrounding my one and only younger brother."

The petitioner also criticized the KDCA for holding a briefing without the family’s consent. They said, "Suddenly, the KDCA held a briefing without the family’s consent," and added, "I was preparing for the Samuje memorial service the next day without knowing about the briefing, when my uncle asked if I had seen the news and showed me the article, which was shocking."

In response, the KDCA explained the family’s claim that "the death was announced at the briefing without prior notice" by stating, "The briefing on the 19th was about cases related to adverse reactions to vaccination, and only information such as '17 years old, male, Incheon' was disclosed without other personal details."

However, regarding mentioning the deceased at the severe adverse reaction press conference without the family’s consent, the KDCA expressed apologies the day after the briefing, on the 20th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.