The family of an Ionia-area woman says she died “as the result of complications after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.”
Anne VanGeest, 35, died April 19 at Mercy Health Saint Mary’s hospital in Grand Rapids.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the news of Anne’s passing Anne (Annie), who was 35, was a loving mother, wife, sister and daughter,” according to a statement from her family provided Lambert, a Grand Rapids-based public relations firm that is providing its services to the family pro bono.
“An active member in the animal rescue community, Annie will be remembered as a fierce advocate, a master-multi-tasker and a caring friend by her colleagues, fellow volunteers and family. We ask for privacy for her family as they mourn Annie’s passing and celebrate her life.”
Her death certificate lists her cause of death as as “natural” and says the cause was “acute subarachnoid hemorrhage non-traumatic.”
Federal regulators on April 13 recommended a temporary pause in distribution of J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine amid reports of “extremely rare” but severe blood clots. At the time, the Associated Press reported that the blood clots had occurred in six women between the ages of 18 and 48, and that “one person died, and the remaining cases remain under investigation.”
More than “6.8 million doses of the vaccine had been given in the U.S. at the time of the pause, the “vast majority with no or mild side effects,” the AP reported.
On April 24, following a safety review, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration recommended that distribution of the J&J vaccine continue.
In an email from VanGeest’s family to the CDC, the agency confirmed it received a report of VanGeest’s death that was filed by her healthcare provider with the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). VAERS is managed by the CDC and FDA, and accepts reports of side effects following a vaccination.
Her family says memorial contributions can be made in VanGeest’s name to C-SNIP and Luvnpupz of Grand Rapids, MI.
Article Source: Woman died from complications after receiving Johnson & Johnson vaccine, family says – mlive.com