Doctor, 32, died after a ‘tragic and rare’ reaction to AstraZeneca jab | News News

A ‘fit and healthy’ doctor died after suffering a ‘truly tragic and very rare’ reaction to the AstraZeneca Covid jab, an request he heard.

Dr Stephen Wright, 32, was among the first people to be given the vaccine due to his role on the pandemic’s frontline. The NHS clinical psychologist, from Sevenoaks, died 10 days later in January 2021.

His widow Charlotte said she now intends to take legal action against the pharmaceutical giant. She told reporters after the request: ‘It was made clear that Stephen was fit and healthy and that his death was by vaccination of AstraZeneca. This is the written proof.’

Holding back tears, she remembered Dr. Wright as ‘the most amazing husband’ and a good father to their sons Izaac, nine, and Elijah, three.

‘I find it very comforting to have two boys who remind me of him every day, she added.

‘I’m just very thankful that I got to marry such a great man. I will raise our boys in his honor.’

Dr Wright had the AstraZeneca vaccine on January 16, 2021. He woke up with a headache nine days later and afterward developed numbness in his left arm, the court heard.

He attended A&E at Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington just after midnight on January 26 where he was found to have high blood pressure and a sagittal sinus thrombosis.

He was suffering from a combination of a brainstem infarction, bleeding in the brain and ‘vaccine-induced thrombosis’, the request was told.

The medic was moved to King’s College Hospital as his condition rapidly worsened, but the nature of the bleed meant he was unfit for surgery.

Coroner Andrew Harris described it as a ‘very unusual and deeply tragic case’.

Regarding the official documents detailing Dr Wright’s death, he said ‘it is very important to record the fact that it is the AstraZeneca vaccine – but that is different from blaming AstraZeneca’.

The medicines regulator is investigating why severe reactions to jabs can occur, the request was heard.

Mr Harris said: ‘My understanding is that this condition is rare.

‘Causes are being examined by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency).

‘It seems to me that there is not an action one can take at the moment.

‘It is being looked at and there are reports being given to the Government from the MHRA and there is advice on the matter.’

Medical experts told the court nothing could be done to save Dr Wright as his condition quickly worsened.

Previously, consultant neurosurgeon Francesco Vergani said platelets provide the body’s first response to try and stop bleeding and are important for clotting, but Dr Wright’s were ‘critically low’.

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. Mark Howard, a consultant pathologist and medical examiner at King’s College Hospital, said 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.

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-meaning vaccination.

‘We had no knowledge that this was a potential side effect at this time. It’s not fully understood why this happens. It’s an idiosyncratic reaction.

‘The circumstances arose in a very small number of people. There was no way of knowing that Stephen would have this consequence.

‘It was a rare and unintended consequence.’

After the hearing Dr. Wright’s mother Anne remembered him as a ‘brilliant father to the two boys and a lovely son’.

She added: ‘He was just everything that anyone could want a son to be – kind and caring.’

Dr Wright’s father Richard noted that ‘because he worked for the NHS, that was the only reason he had the vaccination at that time’.

He added: ‘If he had worked at any other job, because of his age group, he wouldn’t have had the vaccination so early.’

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