KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 – The parents of Revnesh Kumar, a 13-year-old boy who died 18 days after a Covid-19 vaccine jab, say that they cannot wait six months for an official cause of death.
Revnesh’s mother Vijayarani Govindan told The Malaysian Insight that her son’s cause of death was stated as “pending” on his post-mortem report, as Kajang Hospital, a Ministry of Health (MOH) facility, told her to wait six months for autopsy results.
“My son didn’t have any illnesses. Why wait six months?” said Vijayarani, accompanied by her husband Naresh Kumar, in The Malaysian Insight’s video report posted on YouTube last Saturday.
“Now, we can’t do anything. I asked — doesn’t the hospital have a channel for complaints? They said, there isn’t. That was all the reply by the doctor.”
The Malaysian Insight reported that Revnesh received his first Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine dose last December 30 at the public health clinic in Precinct 18, Putrajaya.
On January 16, while Revnesh was on his way to a karate class, he collapsed in a lift in his residence before he was sent to Kajang Hospital, where he died the same day.
“My son was very healthy; he didn’t have a history of hospital admission. Suddenly he died. What’s the cause? I’m 100 per cent sure that it was the vaccine,” said Vijayarani.
“We don’t trust the MOH doctor. MOH gave the vaccine, MOH is doing the post-mortem. Everything is MOH. Who can we trust?”
Vijayarani — who said she and her husband are from a middle-class family — pleaded for independent medical experts to help their case.
In a previous video in Tamil by Vijayarani and Naresh posted on social media last month, Vijayarani said their son’s school administrators told them that Revnesh — who was reluctant to get inoculated — would not be allowed to attend school without Covid-19 vaccination. Vijayarani did not name the school.
Revnesh, an only son, wanted to become a police officer, said his mother.
During Revnesh’s vaccination appointment at the Klinik Kesihatan Presint 18, Putrajaya, Vijayarani said the doctor told her that side effects from the Pfizer shot included fever, headache, and vomiting.
“Upon listening to the doctor’s advice, I signed the form,” she said, referring to the consent form for her child’s vaccination.
She said Revnesh was crying as he did not want the coronavirus vaccine.
“They saw me taking photos; they told me that I can’t take any photos,” Vijayarani claimed. The vaccine administrator’s alleged action in refusing permission for parents to photograph their child’s vaccination contradicts official MOH policy that permits photos or videos to be taken during the jab.
After post-jab monitoring of five to 10 minutes, Revnesh was allowed to leave.
Vijayarani said she gave Revnesh paracetamol after his meals based on the doctor’s advice to prevent fever after vaccination.
“He was fine during the 18 days after vaccination with no symptoms. He has never had any major illness. The only time we brought him to the hospital after his birth was for his death. I have never brought him to the hospital for 13 years for any treatment,” she said.
“Given the circumstances, knowing my son wasn’t sick at all and died afterwards, this has greatly affected me and my family members.”
Vijayarani related that her husband called her on January 16, saying that Revnesh had vomited and collapsed in a lift while on his way to karate class. The teenager was then brought to Kajang Hospital, where he died.
“They couldn’t identify any sickness. The forensics representative said that my son wasn’t sick. However, they don’t know the cause of his death yet,” she said.
Revnesh’s mother also complained that their “representatives” were not permitted to speak on their behalf at the “location”, as only parents were allowed.
“They had this one request — that only parents are allowed to enter and others can’t. At one point, they didn’t let me in. Only the father is allowed in and the mother cannot enter. At the time, I couldn’t bear to see my son, as the post-mortem was done on him.”
It’s unclear if Vijayarani was referring to who was allowed to see Revnesh’s body.
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah told a press conference last February 24 that Revnesh did not report any side effects from the Covid-19 vaccine.
He said that MOH is awaiting complete results from the post-mortem and a lab investigation to verify if Revnesh’s death was caused by other viruses.
