Utah Woman Dies 4 Days After Second COVID-19 Vaccine: 'She Got Sick Right Away'

A Utah woman died four days after receiving her second dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to a recent analysis.

An investigation conducted with the Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System found that Kassidi Kurill, a 39-year-old single mom from Ogden, died after she received the second shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Feb. 1.

Families and caregivers can report coronavirus side effects and deaths to the reporting system, which was set up by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kurill’s family described her as a happy and healthy individual who “had more energy” than the people around her. Her family also said the single mom did not have any known health problems or pre-existing conditions.

Alfred Hawley, Kurill’s father, said the 39-year-old came into his room early Thursday while feeling ill.

“She came in early and said her heart was racing and she felt like she need to get to the emergency room," Hawley said.

The father said Kurill became ill “right away” after she received the second dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and also experienced soreness at the injection site. His daughter also experienced difficulty urinating.

“She got sick right away, soreness at the shot location, then started getting sick then, started complaining that she was drinking lots of fluids but couldn't pee, and then felt a little better the next day,” he recalled.

Doctors at the emergency room found, through a blood test, that her liver wasn't functioning properly. She was later flown to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, where medical staff began preparing her for a liver transplant.

Kurill died 30 hours after arriving in the emergency room after her liver, kidney and heart all shut down.

A spokesman for the Utah Department of Health on Tuesday said that they did not find evidence that the vaccine contributed to the patient’s death. Utah health officials also stressed that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.

Dr. Erik Christensen, Utah’s chief medical examiner, said proving vaccine injury as a cause of death is “very hard to demonstrate.” An official autopsy report can only report vaccine as the cause of a death if the patient had suffered from an immediate case of anaphylaxis.

“Short of that, it would be difficult for us to definitively say this is the vaccine,” Christensen said.