Coroner Rules Man Died as a 'Direct Result' of AstraZeneca's COVID Vaccine

An inquest ruled a “fit and healthy” man died from catastrophic bleeding on the brain as a direct result of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Jack Last, a 27-year-old engineer from Stowmarket, was vaccinated on March 30, 2021, and died three weeks after receiving the AstraZeneca shot after being hospitalized for episodes of uncontrollable vomiting and severe headaches.

When he first arrived at the ER on April 9, doctors thought Last was experiencing a migraine, did not connect the symptoms to his vaccination, and did not perform the correct scan. However, a CT scan on April 10, 2021, revealed Last had developed a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), which occurs when a blood clot forms in the brain’s venous sinuses and prevents blood from draining out of the brain.

Suffolk senior coroner Nigel Parsley on Tuesday concluded the shot triggered an “over-reactive immune response,” causing blood clots in multiple areas of his body."

"Jack Last died of a blood clot to the brain, caused as a direct result of his body's reaction to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination, which he had received on March 30, 2021,” Parsley concluded.

After the hearing, Michael Portman-Hann, the family's solicitor, said that had the hospital been able to do the correct scan, "treatment would have been started sooner, and Jack might have survived.”

"On behalf of Jack's family, we will now be pursuing a clinical negligence case against the hospitals that could and should have been able to do more to try to save him," Portman-Hann said.

Dr. Martin Besser, a hematologist who took over Last's case after being transferred to a different hospital, said there had been uncertainty regarding whether COVID-19 vaccines could cause blood clots at the time of Last’s death.

An inquest is a formal investigation conducted by a coroner to determine how someone died. The purpose of an inquest is limited to establishing the identity of the deceased individual as well as where, when, and how they died.

Once an inquest has been conducted that connects a death to a COVID-19 vaccine, it’s much easier for a family to pursue their legal options.

Although AstraZeneca isn’t used in the U.S., Johnson & Johnson, a similar adenovirus vector vaccine, is. The latest available data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System shows thousands of reports of blood clotting disorders attributed to Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna.

On April 7, 2021, European regulators announced they had found a “possible link” between AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine and “very rare” blood clots but concluded the vaccine's benefits still outweigh the risks.

The U.K.’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, on May 7, 2021, updated its guidance advising against the AstraZeneca vaccine for individuals under age 40.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May 2021 put strict limits on the use of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine — after it became impossible to hide the association — citing the risk of a blood-clotting condition the agency described as “rare and potentially life-threatening.”

However, the FDA has not limited the use of the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines despite equally concerning reports of blood clotting disorders.