Utah’s chief medical examiner urged the public not to jump to conclusions about the death of a 39-year-old woman four days after receiving the second dose of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine – insisting that there is no evidence is that the shot was related to her death.
After receiving her second shot on February 1, Kassidi Kurill fell ill and was hospitalized. Four days later, the single mother died in mysterious circumstances.
But Dr. Erik Christensen, chief medical examiner for the Utah health department, told Fox News that the tragic mother’s second dose and her death are only “temporarily linked.”
“We don’t have any evidence that there is any link between the vaccines and deaths at this point,” he insisted. “We have no indication of that.”
Christensen said side effects from vaccinations are to be expected, but how people respond to the vaccine will ultimately be determined by their biology.
“Certainly there are side effects from a vaccine that are directly related to the vaccine and what happens in your body,” said Christensen. “You know, the pain in the arm… the feverish symptoms associated with your immune response to what was put into you. Things like that obviously happen. “
Kurill, who received the vaccine for her job as a surgeon, developed a sore arm after the first dose, but had no other side effects, her father Alfred Hawley told KUTV.
But things took a tragic turn after receiving her second dose when she soon fell ill and ended up in a hospital, where doctors determined that her liver was defective, Hawley said.
She died 30 hours later.
The Food and Drug Administration requires vaccine providers to report all deaths from COVID-19 shots to the Vaccine Adverse Report System, which shows that four deaths have been reported involving Utah residents, according to Fox News.
One of the four matches Kurill’s age, while the other three were all in their 80s, the outlet reported.
The Utah Health Department told Fox News that the Office of the Medical Examiner will “investigate any death when the COVID-19 vaccine is listed on the death certificate.”
However, there is currently no evidence that the injection is dangerous.
“There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines have caused deaths in Utah. Reports of adverse events and deaths after vaccination do not necessarily mean that the vaccine caused the reaction or death, ”he said.
“Reports of concern are verified and scientifically studied. The CDC also follows up on every report of death to request additional information and learn what happened and to determine whether the death was due to the vaccine or unrelated. “
Christensen said cases of post-vaccination deaths are worth investigating, but added that until we know all the results, it’s just “speculation.”
An autopsy was performed on Kurill’s body, but the state medical research bureau was unable to comment on it due to privacy laws.