Man, 27, dies after NHS gives him wrong Covid jab in major error | UK | News

Jack Last, 27, was only offered the AstraZeneca vaccine by Oxford because records incorrectly stated he lived with his “vulnerable” parents, a report revealed.

Engineer Jack from Stowmarket, Suffolk, complained of headaches after receiving the vaccination on March 30, 2021, and died three weeks later on April 20.

Just a week after he received the vaccine, government health advisers advised people under 30 to look for an alternative vaccine because of an increased risk of fatal blood clots in the brain.

According to a new report published today by the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board, Jack only received the vaccination because he was wrongly assumed to be living with his parents.

Jack's medical record contained the same landline number as his parents, who met the criteria for a high-risk age group.

Although he had already moved into his own house in 2018 and updated his contact details, his parents' landline number was still listed in his file.

Jack received his first vaccination on March 30, 2021, days before new guidelines were released offering Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to people under 30.

The report also found that his death was the result of “system deficiencies, human error and tragically unfortunate timing.”

It was also determined that Jack was contacted at that time because one of his parents' medical records had previously mentioned non-active COPD.

In a statement, the family said it was “heartbreaking” to learn of the mistakes that led to him being invited to be vaccinated early.

One day before Mr Last received his text on 20 March, it was agreed to extend the criteria for vaccination eligibility to those belonging to cohort 6 of eligible patients.

Searches were conducted by matching people to landline numbers, and Jack was invited because he was listed as “living with his parents.”

On April 5, he began to feel ill and called 111 on April 9.

A clinical consultant later advised Jack to attend West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St. Edmunds.

Mr Last underwent a computed tomography (CT) scan by an on-call service outsourced to another company.

The radiologist reported in the CT scan that there were no acute abnormalities in his brain. However, it later turned out that this was not true.

The report states: “It would also have been wise to send Jack immediately to another hospital or center that could perform the required CT venogram rather than waiting until the next day.”

The following day, a CT venogram was performed, which showed a blood clot, delaying treatment by 15 hours.

The report concluded that while this delay was unlikely to have affected the outcome for Mr Last, it was nevertheless a missed opportunity.

As his condition worsened, he was transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

ICB Medical Director for Suffolk and North East Essex, Dr Andrew Kelso, said: “Our thoughts are with Jack’s family during this tragic event.

“On behalf of all system partners, we sincerely regret what has happened and the loss, suffering and hardship they must experience.

“Due to the seriousness of the incident, we have immediately commissioned an independent investigation to fully understand the causes of this tragedy and learn lessons from it.

“We also wanted to give the family all the answers to their questions.

“This independent review enabled the system to investigate the incident from start to finish, without the constraints of organizational boundaries and without bias.”

An inquest into Jack's death in 2022 found that his death was a “direct result” of the vaccination.