- Mother-of-three Tanya Smith, 43, had first Covid AstraZeneca vaccine in March
- She began suffering severe stomach cramps just days after receiving the jab
- After going to hospital in Plymouth, doctors discovered multiple blood clots
- The 43-year-old, who was described as healthy by her partner, died days later
- An inquest and full investigation into the cause of her death are set to take place
A mother of three suffered multiple blood clots and died in hospital just days after receiving the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine.
Childminder Tanya Smith, 43, had her first jab in March and died just over a week later after being rushed to hospital with severe stomach cramps.
An inquest is set to take place to determine the circumstances surrounding her death.
Mr Edwards said Tanya had felt ‘pretty rough’ for a couple of days after the jab and then woke one morning in pain and called 111 for help.
He said her suffering did not ease even after a paramedic attended and gave her painkillers and she was taken to Derriford Hospital where it was later found she had suffered multiple blood clots.
Sadly, Ms Smith soon suffered a heart attack and a cardiac arrest and after a short period of stability, her condition got ‘progressively worse’ before she tragically died in hospital on April 3.
Mr Edwards believes she would not have passed away if she hadn’t had the Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine, but this can not be confirmed until a full investigation and inquest into her death has taken place.
He spoke out after reading about the death of BBC journalist Lisa Shaw who died after suffering blood clots following the AZ vaccine.
The European Medicines Agency says the benefits of the vaccine in combating the widespread threat of Covid-19 (which itself results in clotting problems and may be fatal) continue to outweigh the risk of side effects.
Paying tribute to Tanya, Mr Edwards said: ‘She was just amazing, selfless, She was a childminder, a really good childminder for 19 years.
‘She leaves three children behind, two grown up children and a 12 year old little girl with disabilities. She was the only woman, apart from my mum, who really looked after me.
‘She loved her family, she was really family orientated and she’d go above and beyond. We’re all pretty lost without her. I’ve never experienced anything like this.’
He said she was ‘healthy and young-ish’ before the jab and had her first dose at Plymouth’s Home Park football ground in March after being contacted by her GP surgery to book a Covid-19 appointment.
An inquest will be held into her death later and part of that inquiry will look at an investigation being carried out by University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust which runs Derriford Hospital where she died.
Ms Smith was invited to have her jab early as she was a key worker and a carer for her daughter who has disabilities.
Mr Edwards said by April 2 – just over a week since the Covid jab – Tanya was ‘gravely poorly’ in hospital and she died a day later.
After being taken to hospital, medics performed multiple ECGs over several hours and later phoned Mr Edwards to tell him Ms Smith had had a heart attack and a cardiac arrest.
Mr Edwards said medics ‘didn’t understand’ how Ms Smith could have had a heart attack, and soon sent her down to theatre.
She was found to have blood clots in her arteries, which had caused the heart attack, Mr Edwards said, but her condition appeared to be improving shortly after surgery.
Doctors then noticed her platelet levels were ‘through the floor’ as her condition got progressively worse.
By April 2, doctors told Mr Edwards that she was ‘gravely poorly but she’s a fighter’.
The following day, Mr Edwards and Ms Smith’s parents and children rushed to the hospital to see her before medics advised they went home to rest.
Sadly, Mr Edwards had a phone call from hospital staff just a few hours later and was advised to rush back to the hospital to see his wife.
On returning to the hospital, he was told he had ‘just missed’ his partner’s passing.
Mr Edwards said Tanya was healthy but said: ‘I’m devastated by all this but people need to know.
‘The [BBC journalist Lisa Shaw’s] story struck a chord.
‘I know it’s a small percent [of people that have blood clots after the vaccine] but my partner was healthy. Within four days she had passed away.
‘She obviously had a reaction from the jab. She’d never suffered from blood clots. She was healthy before she had that jab.’
He said she had no underlying health problems apart from an abnormal heart rhythm and a ‘bit of’ irritable bowel syndrome.
NHS England declined to comment but the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said: ‘We are saddened to hear of the death of Tanya Smith and our thoughts are with the family.
‘As with any serious suspected adverse reaction, reports with a fatal outcome are fully evaluated by the MHRA, including an assessment of post mortem details if available.
‘Our detailed and rigorous review into reports of blood clots occurring together with thrombocytopenia [low blood platelet count] is ongoing.’
The death has been reported to the coroner but no inquest has been opened and the cause of death is awaited, HM Coroners Office in Plymouth has confirmed.
Mr Edwards decided to speak out after hearing about the death of BBC journalist Lisa Shaw.
Lisa Shaw, who worked for BBC Newcastle, developed ‘severe’ headaches a week after having the jab and fell seriously ill a few days later, relatives said in a statement.
Ms Shaw, 44, died at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, on May 21 having been treated in intensive care for blood clots and bleeding.
A fact-of-death certificate lists the vaccine as one of the possible factors, but document does not determine a cause of death.
It is expected that will only be released following an inquest into her death.
The presenter was not known to have any underlying health problems and her death came as a devastating shock to family and colleagues.
Last month, 39-year-old British model Stephanie Dubois died in a Cypriot hospital after a blood clotting incident after receiving the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
Dubois suffered a brain haemorrhage and was in a coma before her death on Saturday.
Cypriot health authorities are investigating whether Dubois’s death was linked to the AstraZeneca jab.
The British-born model posted publicly about feeling ill after having the vaccine on May 6, saying she felt ‘horrendous’ after the first dose. She fell ill days later.
In April, Neil Astles, 59, from Warrington, became the UK’s first named victim of blood clots after receiving the AZ vaccine when he passed away on Easter Sunday.
Mr Astles suffered 10 days of severe headaches and a steady loss of vision.
His sister Dr Alison Astles, a pharmacist at the University of Huddersfield, said her brother was a keen runner, was ‘fit and healthy’ and had no history of blood clots.
But he developed a headache about a week after his vaccination March 17. When his headaches and eyesight worsened, he was rushed to A&E at the Royal Liverpool Hospital by his brother, before being admitted to intensive care, where he died more than a fortnight later.
More than 330 cases of a rare clotting disorder have been spotted among 24.2million recipients of the jab — or around one in every 75,000 people. Fifty-eight patients have died.
The clots — which can occur in the brain — are happening alongside abnormally low platelet levels, known as thrombocytopenia.
Last month, health chiefs said all under-40s should be offered an alternative to AstraZeneca’s vaccine because of blood clot fears.
Statisticians analysed the numbers and found rates were slightly higher among younger adults, with females appearing to be at most risk, too.
People under 40 in the UK are being offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports of extremely rare blood clots on the brain coupled with low blood platelet count.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) had said the benefits of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine continue to outweigh risks for most people. It has not proven the vaccine causes the clots but has said the link is getting firmer.
Scientists have previously said that in some people, the immune system sees the vaccine as a threat and over-produces antibodies to fight it.
These lead to the formation of clumps in the blood, which can become deadly if the clots move towards vital organs and cut off supply.
The complication spooked some countries into turning their backs on AstraZeneca’s jab, with Denmark opting against using it in April. Norway and Austria later followed suit.
Other countries have restricted its use to older adults. UK health chiefs say under-40s should be offered other jabs because the risk of blood clots doesn’t clearly outweigh the benefits.
The decision was made because cases of Covid were plummeting, meaning the risk of catching the disease was tiny. On top of that, younger adults face little risk of falling seriously ill with Covid.
For older people who are at a genuine risk of dying if they catch Covid, the benefits of protection from the virus clearly outweigh any negative side effects, regulators say. The absolute risk of developing clots is around one in 100,000.
But researchers at Goethe-University of Frankfurt and Ulm University, in Helmholtz, say the problem lies in the adenovirus vector — a common cold virus used so both vaccines can enter the body.
They say the vaccines can be adapted to prevent the rare side effect from occurring, reported the Financial Times.
Source: Daily Mail
