Widow speaks out over death of her husband after rare side-effects from AstraZeneca covid jab

A widow whose husband died 10 days after receiving his Covid-19 vaccine has urged anyone who develops a headache after getting the jab to visit a hospital. 

Dr Stephen Wright, 32, worked as a clinical psychologist in south-east London, before he died from a blood clot to the brain after having his first dose of the AstraZeneca jab in January 2021. 

Since her husband’s tragic death, Charlotte Wright, 36, has been urging for more openness about vaccination risks. This week a coroner ruled the vaccine should be added to Dr Wright’s death certificate.

‘I don’t want this to happen to anybody else, I don’t want anyone to lose a loved one,’ she told The Times.

‘I want to let people know, if you have someone who has something as minor as a headache after, get them to the hospital. If my husband had not gone to work that morning and had instead gone to hospital it could have been different.’ 

Dr Stephen Wright (left), 32, worked as a clinical psychologist in south-east London, before he died from a blood clot to the brain after having his first dose of the AstraZeneca jab in January 2021

Dr Wright's widow Charlotte (pictured outside London Inner South Coroner's Court) has urged anyone who gets the jab and then develops even a minor headache to visit a hospital

Dr Wright’s widow Charlotte (pictured outside London Inner South Coroner’s Court) has urged anyone who gets the jab and then develops even a minor headache to visit a hospital

Senior coroner Andrew Harris described the case as ‘very unusual and deeply tragic’. A small group of people, Dr Wright included, have had a severe reaction to the jab and health authorities are investigating, the inquest at London Inner South Coroner’s Court heard.

There have been at least 75 confirmed deaths relating to Covid jabs recorded in the UK. Dr Wright, of Sevenoaks, Kent, suffered from a combination of a brainstem infarction, bleed on the brain and ‘vaccine-induced thrombosis’.

Before Dr Wright received the vaccine Mrs Wright, who was on maternity leave from her job as deputy manager of a private day nursery, asked her husband if it was safe.

He reassured her it was both safe and necessary, as he was going in and out of hospitals. 

Mrs Wrigh recalled: ‘I asked Stephen, “Is it safe?”, and he replied, Yes, it is.’ 

After getting the jab Dr Wright experienced a sore arm and a light cold, but was better within four days.

Nine days after taking the vaccine he complained of a headache and took a painkiller so he could go to work.

Later that day he became increasingly unwell and his left arm became numb. 

After calling an ambulance, Mrs Wright recalled that her husband was ‘pretty terrified’ but tried to reassure her. They said ‘I love you’ to each other, but because of lockdown restrictions she couldn’t accompany him to the hospital.

He was taken to Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington and moved to King’s College Hospital as his condition rapidly worsened but the nature of the bleed meant he was unfit for surgery. 

Shortly after Mrs Wright arrived at the hospital, his life support machine was switched off.

Dr Stephen Wright, 32, (pictured) died ten days after receiving his first dose of Covid-19 jab

Dr Stephen Wright, 32, (pictured) died ten days after receiving his first dose of Covid-19 jab

Charlotte Wright with husband Dr Stephen Wright. Dr Wright, 32, who worked as a clinical psychologist in south-east London, suffered a blood clot to the brain after having his first dose of the jab in January 2021

Charlotte Wright with husband Dr Stephen Wright. Dr Wright, 32, who worked as a clinical psychologist in south-east London, suffered a blood clot to the brain after having his first dose of the jab in January 2021

The death certificate initially recorded the cause was a result of ‘spontaneous’ natural causes.

Speaking to The Times, Mrs Wright said that following her husband’s death she refused to consider the vaccine played a part.

She said: ‘I did not want Stephen to be branded antivaxer because he was so pro-vaccine.

‘I believe if he had been told all of the possible reactions, he would have still taken the vaccine because I am aware it is a rare situation.’

After the inquest, she said: ‘It was made clear that Stephen was fit and healthy and that his death was by vaccination of AstraZeneca.

‘For us, it allows us to be able to continue our litigation against AstraZeneca. ‘This is the written proof.’

She said: ‘I think we’re only going to get that when we have an answer from AstraZeneca and the Government.’

Speaking to the BBC outside court, the mother-of-two said the coroner’s ruling ‘provides relief but it doesn’t provide closure’.

Paying tribute to her late husband, she continued: ‘I’m just very thankful that I got to marry such a great man and raise our boys in his honour.’

A spokesman for AstraZeneca said: ‘We are very saddened by Stephen Wright’s death and extend our deepest sympathies to his family for their loss.

‘Patient safety is our highest priority and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines.

‘From the body of evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, Vaxzevria has continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects.

His widow Mrs Wright (pictured), is considering taking legal action against the pharmaceutical giant

His widow Mrs Wright (pictured), is considering taking legal action against the pharmaceutical giant

Gareth Eve says he has 'no alternative' but to pursue legal action against AstraZeneca after his wife, BBC Radio Newcastle presenter Lisa Shaw, died from coronavirus vaccine complications

Gareth Eve says he has ‘no alternative’ but to pursue legal action against AstraZeneca after his wife, BBC Radio Newcastle presenter Lisa Shaw, died from coronavirus vaccine complications

‘The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) granted conditional marketing approval for Vaxzevria for the UK based on the safety profile and efficacy of the vaccine.’

There have been at least 75 confirmed deaths relating to Covid jabs recorded in the UK. However, these are not broken down by brand.

At least a dozen named Brits are reported to have died following blood clots triggered by a rare side effect of the AstraZeneca jab.

The inquest into Dr Wright’s death comes after the widower of a BBC presenter who died from coronavirus vaccine complications launched legal action against AstraZeneca with others whose ‘relatives died or suffered injuries related to the jab’.

Mother-of-one Lisa Shaw, 44, died from ‘vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia’ in May 2021, about a week after receiving her first Covid jab. She worked for BBC Radio Newcastle.

How many people have died after taking the AstraZeneca jab? 

There have been 75 confirmed deaths relating to Covid jabs recorded in the UK.

However, these are not broken down by brand.

But at least a dozen named Brits are reported to have died following blood clots triggered by a rare side effect of the AstraZeneca jab.

And Government agency the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which tracks the safety of drugs and jabs used in Britain, has received 1,368 reports of a fatality following a AstraZeneca vaccination.

It should be noted that these reports don’t mean the death was actually caused by the jab as it may have just been coincidence or another health condition or disease entirely.

One of the youngest victims is thought to be 18-year-old Kasey Turner, who died in February 2021, two weeks after receiving the AstraZeneca jab.

The student paramedic from Barnsley, south Yorkshire was admitted to hospital after experiencing intense headaches. It was later shown to be a cerebral venous thrombosis, an extremely rare complication of the vaccine itself.

The side effect was so rare that it wasn’t spotted in the initial trials involving tens of thousands of people before being given the green light in December 2020.

British health chiefs eventually recommended in May that the jab only be offered to over-40s because the potential risks outweighed the benefits of protection from Covid for younger people.

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