No conclusive link between athlete’s death and Covid-19 jab, says health ministry

The health ministry today said there was no conclusive proof that the death of national archer Haziq Kamaruddin was linked to his Covid-19 vaccination, a day after his sudden passing at age 27.

Dr Zahari Noor of the ministry’s forensic medicine services said a post-mortem showed that Haziq had died of complications arising from clogged blood vessels due to coronary artery atherosclerosis.

“Further investigations are being carried out, including waiting for the results of several lab analyses.

“There is currently no proof that his death was directly related to his Covid-19 vaccination,” Zahari said in a statement.

He also said the post-mortem was carried out after a Covid-19 test showed negative results.

Haziq, who had competed in the London and Rio Olympics in 2012 and 2016, was said to have collapsed and lost consciousness early yesterday morning.

He represented Malaysia at various levels for a decade and won many medals, including a gold medal at the 2011 Asian Grand Prix in Laos and a bronze medal at the 2019 Asia Cup in the Philippines.