A British woman, Lucy Taberer, died 22 days after getting the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. Her funeral was held on the day she was meant to walk down the aisle.
The 47-year-old from Leicester and her fiance Mark Tomlin had been excited to get vaccinated, but shortly afterwards she fell sick and ended up with blood clots on her brain causing a massive stroke. She passed away on April 10, leaving behind her five-year-old son Orson. Her funeral was held on the day she and Tomlin were meant to walk down the aisle, reported Daily Star.
Tomlin told Leicestershire Live that Taberer initially got mild and common side effects in the days following the vaccination. But her condition gradually worsened and she was taken to a hospital. She died 22 days after being vaccinated.
Tomlin said, “She knew there might be some side effects but she wasn’t worried. We thought they would just clear up as most people’s do. She had a pain in her side so she went to see her GP who said it was kidney stones and prescribed her some painkillers.
“That reassured her and she didn’t think it was anything to do with the vaccine but things just started to get worse and the panic began. She developed a bruise about the size of a tennis ball on her. Normally she had all the energy in the world but she became tired and lethargic."
She also got a really "bad rash on her face and side. Her gums started to change color and we got really worried.”
On April 1, she was taken to the Leicester Royal Infirmary where doctors treated her with blood thinning drugs, but her condition worsened. She was transferred to the intensive care unit at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC), but despite surgery, consultants said that there was nothing more that could be done for her. Her family was advised to switch off her life support on April 10.
Tomlin said that it was consultants at the QMC who said that Taberer’s illness was related to the vaccine. Her death certificate said that she died of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and vaccine-associated thrombosis with thrombocytopenia.
Tomlin said that he doesn’t want people to be put off having a vaccine, but he does want people to "know that there are risks."
“We’re not anti-vax. Lucy certainly wasn’t - she was so excited about getting it. She's stuck like glue to all the lockdown rules and saw the vaccine as a step to getting out again and seeing her and hugging her mates. She couldn’t wait to get it but nobody thought this would happen."
A spokesperson for the Leicester City NHS Clinical Commissioning Group said, "We were very sorry to hear of Lucy’s death, which is clearly very tragic and deeply upsetting for Lucy’s family and friends. All vaccination sites – temporary such as pop-ups or fixed – are subject to strict operating procedures covering all aspects of the service.
"This includes vaccine storage and handling, infection protection and control, workforce requirements and training, and have clinical supervision. The safety of patients is paramount and the operating process includes arrangements for consent, observation and responding to incidents."
