68-Year-Old Woman Died From Allergic Reaction To COVID-19 Vaccine: Autopsy Report

A Kansas woman who died a day after she received her first dose of COVID-19 vaccination last year had an allergic reaction to the vaccine, an autopsy report confirmed.

Jeanie Evans of Effingham died on March 24, 2021, a day after she received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine. The 68-year-old woman died of anaphylaxis caused by the COVID-19 vaccine she received, news outlet The Topeka Capital-Journal reported, citing her autopsy report.

Evans had a history of "hypertension, environmental allergies ... and reactive airway disease (not asthma), with previous anaphylactic reaction to albuterol, the autopsy report said.

Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction that causes the immune system to release a flood of chemicals putting the patient into shock. The reaction can occur within seconds or minutes after getting exposed to the thing a person is allergic to, according to a report by Mayo Clinic.

On March 23, 2021, Evans faced difficulty breathing 15 to 20 minutes after she received the vaccine. She began to complain of "feeling as though her airway was becoming blocked."

Emergency officers who responded to the scene intubated Evans after they found her in "severe respiratory distress with labored breathing and stridor and poor oxygen saturation." The woman was then taken to a hospital where she was reintubated, but her condition deteriorated, and she died the following day, The Wichita Eagle reported.

Kansas Department of Health initiated an investigation into Evan's death and reported her case to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, which monitors the safety of vaccines.

After the autopsy findings, Evan's family said they are planning to file a lawsuit. "I am actively looking for a new attorney to represent the family," Colt Umphenour, one of Evans' sons, said.

According to a CDC report, anaphylaxis after COVID-19 vaccination is rare and is found only in 5 out of every 1 million people vaccinated in the United States."Reports of adverse events ... following vaccination, including deaths, do not necessarily mean that a vaccine caused a health problem," CDC says.