Coroner ‘not aware’ of formal research into deaths post vaccine
A former President of the Coroner Service of Ireland said he is ‘not aware’ of formal research by the service into deaths post covid 19 vaccination. Prof Denis Cusack, former Senior Coroner for Kildare and now serving as Deputy Coroner for County Clare, confirmed he is unaware whether surveillance is being conducted.
Prof Cusack responded to a query from this reporter based on his recommendation that safety and risk benefit of vaccination and surveillance of possible deaths by the Coroner Service should be ongoing.
“I am not aware of any formal or consolidated research results or follow up currently in the two areas you mention, but that is not to say it is not being done,” Prof Cusack stated.
The Coroner said individual coroners’ offices would hold information on any deaths linked to vaccines and the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) ‘provides updates on vaccine safety.’
“…individual coroners' offices would hold details of any such inquiries or outcomes (although they lag by about two years pending completion of all such inquest hearings).”
The Coroner said he is not aware of any ‘confirmed direct vaccine-related death in Ireland to date’ but noted that such cases would be the subject of ongoing inquiries by individual coroners.
Examples of such inquiries include Coroner Pat O’Connor’s investigation into the death of Joseph McGinty (14) from Co Mayo and Cork based Coroner Philip Comyn’s investigation into the death of Roy Butler (23) from Co Waterford. Both cases have been covered on this Substack and inquests are due to be held in each case, later this year.
Prof Cusack’s comprehensive report, published early in the covid 19 vaccine roll out, included autopsy protocols for deaths post covid 19 vaccines.
The protocol states that an autopsy should be conducted in deaths where there is ‘no readily obvious or plausible explanation for cause of death’. An autopsy is further required in any case with new onset symptoms not fully explained by underlying conditions that develop up to a year after vaccination.
Up to 30 April 2023, the HPRA received a total of 20,971 reports describing suspected side effects in association with covid 19 vaccines, of which 2,853 were received in 2022 and 211 were received in 2023.
The number of covid 19 vaccines doses administered over that time is reported as 8,056,180, of which 4,637,411 were administered as a booster.
As of 31 January 2023 the HPRA claims to have received a total of 124 reports ‘describing an individual who was known to have been vaccinated and subsequently passed away.’
Therefore, there should be a similar number of cases making their way through the coronial system.
Worth noting in the HPRA’s latest published report into vaccine adverse reactions, is the news that in January 2023 the EMA’s safety committee recommended that product information for the Pfizer vaccine be updated to include dizziness as a possible side effect. Up to January 2023, the HPRA said it had received 1,095 reports of dizziness following Pfizer vaccination.
Dizziness can lead to a fall which can lead to a fatal outcome, particularly in the elderly. Therefore, if a person is vaccinated and boosted, becomes dizzy and dies following a fall, should a coroner need to explore the circumstances of such a case? Such an inquiry would require checking with the individuals’ GP, carer or relatives to ascertain if there was any link between the person’s experience of dizziness and the vaccine.
Should it follow then, that all deaths where known reactions to covid 19 vaccines are observed at autopsy (blood clots, strokes, heart inflammation etc) should be considered as cases with possible connections to covid 19 vaccines?
A query covering the issues above - including the formal surveillance of vaccination related deaths as raised by Prof Cusack, has been submitted to the Department of Justice.
In May 2022, Prof Cusack told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice that the Irish coronial system investigates a relatively wide range of unexplained deaths compared to the rest of the world. The reason for this, according to Prof Cusack, is the value placed on life by the Irish Constitution.
“Investigation of sudden and unexplained death takes many forms throughout the world and the Irish system with its emphasis on investigating a relatively wide range of unexplained deaths, reflects the essential value placed by our constitution on life itself. No death should be left uninvestigated unless there is a clear and certifiable reason for that death.”
Prof Cusack went on to inform the committee that the Coroner Service is ‘not fit for purpose’ and set out a programme for reform under the following headings:
Given that coroners’ services across the country are already stretched, along with post mortem, toxicology and histopathology services, is it realistic to expect that inquiries into all deaths with possible connections to covid vaccines will be fully explored?
The following line was delivered from Prof Cusack to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice in May last year.
“It is critical to state that the Coroner Service is a service for the living as well as the dead. It must be a service balancing legal formality with compassionate sensitivity to the bereaved and recognising the dignity of and respect due to the deceased person.”
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Warm thanks to those that continue to support my work, it is much appreciated.
I hope the families get all the answers they need. I remember Fergal Bowers tweeting ‘a 14 year old has died after testing positive for Covid’ yet in other reports it was at home and sudden.