New Zealand records first death linked to Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine

New Zealand on Monday reported its first death linked to the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, Reuters has reported.

The country's health ministry released details on the death of a woman following a review by an independent Covid-19 vaccine safety monitoring board.

The board concluded that the woman’s death was due to myocarditis, which is known to be a rare side effect of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, the govt said.

Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle that can limit its ability to pump blood and can cause changes in heartbeat rhythms.

"This is the first case in New Zealand where a death in the days following vaccination has been linked to the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine," the health ministry said.

Reuters report said that Pfizer has not yet reacted to the death.

New Zealand is battling an outbreak of the Delta variant of Covid-19 after nearly six months of being virus free.

It reported 53 new cases on Monday, taking the total number of infections in the current outbreak to 562.