PETALING JAYA: The senior Health Ministry officer who died a week after receiving a Covid-19 booster shot did not suffer from any unusual side effects after vaccination, says Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (pic).

       Dr Noor Hisham said the sudden death of Dr Chai Koh Meow on Nov 17 was still under investigation and had urged the public not to make speculations on the case.

       "Dr Chai received his Covid-19 booster shot on Nov 9. He did not report any unusual side effects after receiving that jab. In fact, he attended work as usual until Nov 16.

       "The investigation into the cause of death is still ongoing. The ministry is asking all not to make speculations on the case until the official post-mortem results are released.

       "The ministry is also pleading to the public to respect the privacy of the deceased’s family," said Dr Noor Hisham in a Facebook post on Thursday (Nov 18).

       Dr Chai was a senior principal assistant director of the Traditional and Complementary Medicine Division and was based at the ministry’s headquarters.

       Dr Noor Hisham said Dr Chai was well liked by his colleagues, the public as well as the traditional and complementary medicine community.

       "The ministry is saddened by the passing of one of the committed officers who is dedicated to his duties.

       "May his soul be showered with grace," said Dr Noor Hisham.