A mother died from a “catastrophic” bleed on the brain caused by a rare side-effect of the Covid-19 vaccine, a coroner has concluded.
Kim Lockwood, 34, complained of an excruciating headache eight days after her AstraZeneca jab in March 2021.
Her condition quickly deteriorated and she was pronounced dead 17 hours after being admitted to Rotherham Hospital.
South Yorkshire Coroner Nicola Mundy said Mrs Lockwood had been “extremely unlucky”.
At Doncaster Coroner’s court, she recorded the cause of death as Vaccine-Induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia (VITT) and returned a verdict of misadventure.
Little was known about the link between the Covid-19 jab and VITT at the time of Mrs Lockwood’s death, the coroner said, but “medical advances” meant the condition was better-recognised since the initial vaccine rollout.
Government figures show the type of reaction Mrs Lockwood experienced is considered extremely rare. There have been 438 reported cases and 78 deathsafter an estimated 24.9 million first doses and 24.2 million second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The inquest heard administrative secretary Mrs Lockwood first went to Rotherham Hospital’s A&E on 22 March but left without being seen after a long wait.
She returned the next morning suffering from debilitating headaches, blurred vision and vomiting, and by midday could not speak in full sentences.