Singapore, Dec 30 (PTI) The Singapore government on Thursday urged the public not to spread any "unsubstantiated speculation" online on the cause of death of a teenager who died 75 days after getting his COVID-19 vaccine.

In a Facebook post, the health ministry asserted that only vaccines that comply with the World Health Organisation's guidelines and meet strict standards of safety, quality and efficacy are used in Singapore.

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The ministry said it is aware of a redacted police report circulating online and claiming that a teenager passed away in October after receiving his COVID-19 vaccine.

"The allegation is that the teenager died due to COVID-19 vaccination. It is filed by Dr Paul Yang, who has been an advocate against vaccinations," it said.

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Noting that the allegation is "serious", the ministry said the teenager received his vaccination 75 days before his unfortunate passing. The case has been referred to the coroner, and an autopsy was performed. Further post-autopsy tests are being performed.

"Pending the determination of the cause of death, the public should not spread any unsubstantiated speculation on the cause of death," it said.

The COVID-19 vaccines deployed in Singapore have been assessed to be safe and efficacious by both the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination, the ministry said.

"We have also put in place measures to ensure the safety of COVID-19 vaccine recipients before, during, and after vaccination. We encourage the public to continue supporting vaccination as a key response to the COVID-19 pandemic," it said.

According to a report in The Straits Times, the youth was 18-year-old and he died on October 13.

Dr Yang, a general practitioner in Singapore, had written an open letter in June calling for a pause in Singapore's vaccination exercise for young people, the report said.

The letter, which was signed by five other doctors, came after a 13-year-old American boy died days after he received his second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in the United States.

The open letter was countered by the health ministry and doctors from the National Centre for Infectious Diseases as being misleading and one-sided.

Meanwhile, 341 new COVID-19 cases were reported as of Wednesday noon in Singapore, taking the total number of cases to 278,750. The new cases comprise 153 imported infections or those arriving here, 182 from the local community and six from migrant worker's dormitories.

One more person died due to the disease, taking the death toll due to Covid complications to 826, the ministry said, adding that Singapore has so far reported 1,055 Omicron cases, including the 170 infections reported on Wednesday.

Of the 170 Omicron cases, 151 are imported and 19 local.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)