Covid vaccine: Woman who died was 'wrongly diagnosed' - BBC News

A woman who died from "unrecognised" complications after having a Covid-19 vaccine was wrongly diagnosed with gastroenteritis, a coroner has said.

An inquest heard Michelle Barlow developed blood clots and died 16 days after having the AstraZeneca jab.

Senior coroner Timothy Brennand said the 51-year-old, from Orrell, Wigan, may have received "sub-optimal care".

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals Trust said her treatment was "in line with appropriate guidance".

The inquest heard mother-of-two Mrs Barlow first went to Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan with flu-like "side effects" on 19 March, 12 days after getting a vaccine at a mass vaccination centre at Robin Park, Wigan.

Surgeon Dr Marius Paraoan added that once he looked at Mrs Barlow's CT scan, he concluded the blood clots were not treatable with surgery and "not compatible with survival".

Giving his conclusion, Mr Brennand said he could not say whether Mrs Barlow would have lived if doctors had recognised sooner that she was having a bad reaction to the vaccine.

Outside court Ian Barlow called for a judicial review into the vaccine rollout and said he felt "relief" that the vaccine's role in his wife's death had been recognised.

He said the family felt stonewalled by public health officials when he raised his concerns.

He said he was "happy and sad" because though she was not here, his wife "got the answers to what we wanted".

"The Covid vaccine victims are forgotten heroes alongside the Covid victims, because lessons have been learned," he said.

She said: "We would like to give assurance that the treatment Mrs Barlow received whilst in our care was in line with appropriate guidance.".