A “fit and healthy” doctor who was one of the first people to be given the AstraZeneca COVID vaccination died after a “rare” severe reaction to the jab, a coroner has ruled.
Dr Stephen Wright, of Sevenoaks, Kent, died 10 days after receiving the inoculation in mid-January 2021.
The 32-year-old NHS clinical psychologist and frontline health worker was among the earliest groups of people to be given the vaccine during the pandemic.
Scientists and medical experts were not aware of the vaccine’s possible deadly side effects because Dr Wright’s case happened so early in its rollout, said Dr Mark Howard, a consultant pathologist and medical examiner at King’s College Hospital.
He said: “It is a truly tragic and very rare complication of a well-meant vaccination.
“It was a rare and unintended consequence.”
An inquest at London’s Southwark Coroner’s Court heard Dr Wright was part of a small group of people who have had a severe reaction to the jab and that an investigation is being carried out by health authorities.
Dr Wright suffered from a combination of a brainstem infarction, bleed on the brain and “vaccine-induced thrombosis” and was taken to Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington before being moved to King’s College Hospital as his condition worsened.
Coroner Andrew Harris described it as a “very unusual and deeply tragic case”.
Outlining the facts, Mr Harris said it is “very important to record as fact that it is the AstraZeneca vaccine – but that is different from blaming AstraZeneca”.
He said: “Dr Wright was a fit and healthy man who had the AstraZeneca vaccine on 16 January 2021, awoke with a headache on 25 January and later developed left arm numbness.”
He attended an A&E department just after midnight where was found to have high blood pressure and a sagittal sinus thrombosis, Mr Harris said.
“He was transferred to King’s College Hospital at 6.39am but, due to the extent of the bleed and very low platelets, was unfit for surgery…”
“My understanding is that this condition is rare.”
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Earlier, consultant neurosurgeon Francesco Vergani said platelets provide the body’s first response to try to stop bleeding.
He said: “There was nothing that could have been done to have a successful operation.
“When you have someone with critically low platelets who is bleeding in the brain, the surgery is a disaster.”
Dr Wright’s widow Charlotte is considering taking legal action against AstraZeneca.
After the inquest, she said: “It was made clear that Stephen was fit and healthy and that his death was by vaccination of AstraZeneca.
“For us, it allows us to be able to continue our litigation against AstraZeneca. This is the written proof.”
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An AstraZeneca spokesman said: “We are very saddened by Stephen Wright’s death and extend our deepest sympathies to his family for their loss.
“Patient safety is our highest priority and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines.
“From the body of evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, Vaxzevria (the brand name for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine) has continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects.”
