– Health Minister says

THE two vaccines and filaria tablets taken by Police Constable Rockliff Cozier did not seemingly contribute to his death, as per the preliminary findings of the Post-Mortem Examination (PME), Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony has revealed.

On Monday, the Health Minister clarified that the constable did not receive two doses of the varicella vaccine for chicken pox, as was previously reported. Instead, it was made known that the constable received one varicella vaccine and one pneumococcal vaccine.

While preliminary information from the PME has shown that taking the vaccines and the pills together did not contribute to Cozier’s death, Dr. Anthony said he is awaiting the completed autopsy report.

According to reports, Cozier, who was infected with chickenpox and was stationed at the Regional Police Division #4 ‘B’, died around 18:15hrs at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Earlier in the day, he took two vaccines and his filaria pills, which were distributed to every officer at the station as part of the Health Ministry’s Mass Drug Administration (MDA) campaign to eliminate malaria from Guyama.

It was further reported that he was placed in incubation, during which he had a relapse, suffered two seizures and subsequently passed away. Subsequently, an investigation was launched to determine the cause of Cozier’s death before any pronouncement was made.

The team undertaking the investigation includes persons from the Pan-American Health Organisation/ World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO). Recently, however, the minister posited that ingesting the pills are not expected to cause such an adverse reaction.