AstraZeneca concerns raised on WhatsApp before Redditch man's death

Jack Hurn gained a first class honours degree in automotive design from Coventry University

An inquest has heard how health bosses raised concerns on WhatsApp about the AstraZeneca vaccine before it was given to 26-year-old man who later died.

Jack Hurn, of Redditch, died on 11 June 2021 from blood clots on the brain, two weeks after he was vaccinated.

Birmingham Coroner's Court heard how local health professionals had been told they should not give AstraZeneca to 18-29 year-olds on a WhatsApp group.

Mr Hurn's family are taking legal action over the advice he was given.

They told his inquest that the vaccination centre in Dudley did not spell out the risks strongly enough and failed to warn them that in rare cases, AstraZeneca could be fatal.

Mr Hurn decided to have the AstraZeneca jab after the clinic had ran out of the Pfizer jab.

Jack Hurn and Alex Jones both had AstraZeneca jab at the clinic, the family's solicitor said

At the time, people under 30 in the UK were being offered alternative Covid vaccines to AstraZeneca, due to evidence linking it to rare blood clots.

Mr Hern's girlfriend, Alex Jones, who also had the AstraZeneca jab, said the whole process at the clinic on 29 May 2021 was "very rushed".

Ms Jones said the couple raised concerns about AstraZeneca but their doctor only mentioned side effects.

"At no point did she tell us the blood clots could be life-threatening," she said.

However, vaccinator Dawn Ginty told the coroner that a doctor would have advised Mr Hurn of the risks and benefits and that she had "full confidence" he would have been given the correct information.

'Headaches within days'

Mr Hurn started developing headaches within days of his first Covid jab, the family's law firm Manby Bowdler said.

Mr Hurn's mother, Tracey Hurn, said: "I didn't think for one minute that he'd have the AstraZeneca jab."

"When he said 'I've got a headache' alarm bells started to ring," she added. "I said call 111 if it gets worse, don't leave it".

The inquest heard how before Mr Hurn died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

He went to the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, where he should have been monitored by staff every hour, but that level of monitoring did not happen.

Dr Jasper Trevelyan from the Alexandra Hospital, said the county's acute trust had launched a serious incident investigation after his death, although the inquest heard how senior neurosurgeons had done everything possible to try and save his life.

The inquest continues.