Dr Stephen Wright: NHS doctor died after reaction to Covid vaccine, inquest rules
A “fit and healthy” doctor died of “unintended consequences of vaccination” after a rare reaction to the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, a coroner has ruled.
As an NHS clinical psychologist and frontline health worker, Dr. Stephen Wright, 32, of Sevenoaks, Kent, among the first groups of people to have been given the vaccine during the pandemic. He died 10 days later.
A small group of people, including Dr. Wright, had a severe reaction to the sting and health authorities are investigating, an inquest at London’s Coroner’s Court in Southwark has found.
dr Wright suffered from a combination of brainstem infarction, cerebral hemorrhage and “vaccine-induced thrombosis”.
He was taken to the Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington and transferred to King’s College Hospital as his condition was deteriorating rapidly, but the nature of the bleeding meant he was unsuitable for surgery.
Coroner Andrew Harris described a “very unusual and deeply tragic case”.
Regarding the official documents pertaining to the death of Dr. Describing Wright, Mr Harris said: “It is very important to state as a fact that this is AstraZeneca’s vaccine – but that is different than blaming AstraZeneca”.
He said: “Dr. Wright was a fit and healthy man who received the AstraZeneca vaccine on January 16, 2021, awoke on January 25 with a headache and later developed numbness in his left arm.
“He visited an emergency room just after midnight, where he was diagnosed with high blood pressure and sagittal thrombosis.
Charlotte Wright outside Southwark Coroner’s Court, London, after the inquest into her husband’s death
(PA)
“He was transferred to King’s College Hospital at 6.39am but was unsuitable for surgery due to the extent of the bleeding and the very low platelet count…”
dr Wright’s widow Charlotte is considering taking legal action against AstraZeneca.
After the examination, she said: “It has been made clear that Stephen was fit and healthy and that his death was caused by the AstraZeneca vaccination.
My understanding is that this condition is rare
Coroner Andrew Harris
“For us, it allows us to continue our legal battle against AstraZeneca.
“This is the written evidence.”
Work is underway to try and understand why severe reactions to the jabs can occur, the inquest has been told.
Mr Harris said: “To my knowledge, this condition is rare.
“The causes are being investigated by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency).
“It seems to me that nothing can be done at the moment.
There was nothing that could have been done to have a successful operation
Specialist neurosurgeon Francesco Vergani
“It is under review and reports are being submitted to the Government by the MHRA and advice is being given on the matter.”
Medical experts told the court that nothing could be done to save Dr. to rescue Wright as his condition was rapidly deteriorating.
Previously, consultant neurosurgeon Francesco Vergani said platelets are the body’s first response to stop bleeding and are important for clotting.
He said: “There was nothing that could have been done for a successful operation.
“If you have someone with critically low platelets who is bleeding in the brain, the surgery is a disaster.”
dr Mark Howard, a consultant pathologist and coroner at King’s College Hospital, said scientists and medical experts are unaware of the vaccine’s potential deadly side effects because Dr. Wright’s case happened so early in its introduction.
The circumstances occur in a very small number of people. It was impossible to know that Stephen would have this consequence
Dr Mark Howard
He said: “Stephen was a very fit, young and healthy man in January 2021.
“It is a truly tragic and very rare complication of a well-intentioned vaccination.
“We were not aware at the time that this was a possible side effect.
“It is not fully understood why this is happening.
“It’s an idiosyncratic reaction.
“The circumstances occur in a very small number of people.
“There was no way of knowing Stephen would face that consequence.
“It was a rare and unintended consequence.”
