DEATH FOLLOWING COVID-19 VACCINATION – AN AUTOPSY REPORT

Vaccines are necessary to reduce the mortality and morbidity of infectious diseases. It has played a vital role in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Different types of vaccines have been developed across the globe to combat the pandemic. Adverse events following immunisation including anaphylaxis have been reported for all types of Covid-19 vaccine. Anaphylaxis is common in a person who has previous history of allergic reactions. Adverse reactions develop within minutes or few hours after administration of vaccine. Hence in India vaccine recipients are made to stay in the medical facility for 30 minutes for observation. Here we report a case where a 23 year old female succumbed after 24 hours of taking COVISHIELD ChAdOx1 nCoV- 19 Corona Virus Vaccine (Recombinant). She did not have any symptoms post vaccination during her observation at the medical facility and also did not have past history of allergic reactions. She was brought dead to M.S. Ramaiah Hospital and autopsy revealed pulmonary oedema. Antibodies to Covid- 19, inflammatory markers, serum IgE and coagulation indicators were raised in the post-mortem blood sample. Cause of death was attributed to delayed allergic reaction to COVISHIELDTM vaccine. Newer vaccines can cause fatal allergic reaction sometimes later than what is expected and even when cutaneous reactions may not be present.