After spending almost a week on the ventilator, 26-year-old Hari Harini, a postgraduate student at Madurai Medical College passed away on March 11 due to an anaphylactic shock that was most likely caused by a painkiller injection administered by her doctor-husband. Following this, a message has started doing rounds on social media platforms claiming the COVID-19 vaccine to be the reason behind the young doctor's death. 

In the message, it is being claimed that Harini's husband administered her painkiller injunction Diclofenac after she complained of fever and body pain following Covid vaccination. The viral message further advises people to not take any kind of painkillers after the Covid vaccination especially diclofenac.

The viral message reads, "Dr Hariharini MD Died because she was injected Diclofenac by her husband Doctor after Covid Vaccination , So pain killers should not taken after Covid Vaccination. Valuable information...Heartbreaking news! This young doctor Hariharini sadly passed away today following developing severe anaphylaxis to Inj. Diclofenac which was given to her by her husband at home for myalgia following Covid vaccination. She died at Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Madurai after a brief battle in ICU. She was doing MD Anaesthesia at Madurai Medical College and was married 4 months ago. Her husband is doing MS Gen Surg at Madurai Medical College. She belongs to the 2012 Batch from Thanjavur Medical College. Any type of painkiller especially diclofenac sodium in tablet or injectable form is NOT AT ALL Advisable after getting vaccinated. The fever or bodypain or pain at site of vaccine is common and a body response to the vaccine. Kindly share with all those who have taken the vaccine or going to take." Several users are sharing this message on Twitter and Facebook. 

The message is also doing rounds on WhatsApp. 

However, Doctors have now ruled out the COVID-19 vaccine as the reason behind Dr. Harini's death. The Medical Administrator of Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Madurai Dr. Kannan told The News Minute that the woman doctor had taken the COVID-19 vaccine on February 5, a month before she was brought to the hospital in an unconscious state. 

Dr. Kannan explained, “She was brought on March 5 in a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) state of below 3, which is unconscious. She was intubated outside and she was brought in a hypoxic state here. She was kept on ventilator support for 4-5 days.” He further added that Dr. Hariharini was taken to two other hospitals including a tertiary care hospital before she was brought to Meenakshi Mission hospital on March 5. "Since then she was in a hypoxic state and we couldn't revive her."

Rubbishing the claims of the COVID-19 vaccine being cause her death, Dr. Kanan said, "Following COVID-19 vaccination, this effect is not possible after this long (duration). We have given thousands of vaccines here in our hospital too. Following vaccination, within 24 hours only the issue can be connected to it.” 

District Immunisation Officer Dr. KV Arjun Kumar said that Harini was shifted to a private hospital on March 5 around 7.30 am and was put on mechanical ventilation. “She died six days later, on March 11 afternoon,” he said.

Arjun Kumar also dismissed the claim of Covid vaccination being the reason behind Dr. Harini's death and said, “The autopsy was performed on March 12 and the provisional diagnosis state that she suffered hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (brain dysfunction due to inadequate oxygen supply) due to anaphylactic shock (severe allergic reaction). The anaphylactic shock could have occurred due to the painkiller injection,” said. He also ruled out that the death was due to vaccination. He further added painkiller injection Diclofenac is not being used in healthcare facilities for many years now and that injectable painkillers are usually avoided.

Avaniapuram police registered a case and an RDO probe was also initiated. According to the TNM report, the Inspector of Avaniyapuram police station doctors has also confirmed that the COVID-19 vaccine is not the cause of her death. “On March 5, she was given an injection named diclofenac. The doctors told us that it could have caused her lungs to react severely. We are waiting for the autopsy report. We have not booked anyone for this because the victim’s family didn’t ask for a case,” he said.

Hari Harini of Anaesthesiology at Madurai Medical College was married to Dr. Ashok Vignesh, a postgraduate student in the department of general surgery at the Madurai Medical College. The couple who got married in November last was residing at Mela Anuppanadi. 

In conclusion, doctors and District Immunisation Officer have ruled out the COVID-19 vaccine as the reason behind the death of a 26-year-old doctor Dr. Hari Harini in Madurai on March 11.