Coroner Investigates Moderna Vaccine Link to Woman’s Death

A COVID-19 vaccine sits in the medical department of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) before being administered aboard the ship in Souda Bay, Greece, on Feb. 20, 2021. U.S. Navy photo/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Damon Grosvenor

Lawyers for Moderna have appeared before the Coroners Court of Victoria for a hearing into the death of Natalie Boyce, a 21-year-old law and commerce student who died from myocarditis after taking the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

The Coroners Court is currently investigating whether Ms. Boyce’s death was caused by the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

On April 17, the court was told that Ms. Boyce received her third vaccine, which was the Moderna vaccine, on Feb. 18, 2022.

Around one week later, she went to a general practitioner (GP) after experiencing vomiting for five days, along with aching pain and fainting at one point.

In the ensuing weeks, Ms. Boyce went to a hospital and a medical centre as her symptoms persisted.

Then, on March 5, she attended Mulgrave Private Hospital after suffering from chest pain and shortness of breath. She was then transferred to The Alfred, where she was diagnosed with fulminant myocarditis, a severe cardiac inflammation disease that is often fatal.

Ms. Boyce’s condition deteriorated after undergoing surgery to remove a blood clot. She later suffered a heart attack during an MRI.

Ms. Boyce could not be revived and was declared dead on March 27, just under six weeks after the vaccine dose.

What the Autopsy Report Revealed

A post-mortem on Ms. Boyce found that she died from an acute myocarditis infarction.

“[G]iven the close proximity in time due to vaccine, a vaccine-related myocarditis cannot be excluded,” the autopsy report said.

However, the report also said that acute myocarditis infarction could not be diagnosed post-mortem.

Meanwhile, Moderna’s cardiologist submitted a letter to the court saying that “the conclusion from the autopsy report should be accepted: that a definitive cause for Ms. Boyce’s myocarditis cannot be identified.”

mRNA vaccines cause myocarditis, by leading your own immune cells to attack your heart, which can lead to sudden death by ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation. Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock

This was in reference to the report by Moderna’s cardiologist, whose findings have differed from other medical evidence presented to the coroner, counsel assisting Jessika Syrjanen said.

However, Ms. Syrjanen did not detail how Moderna’s report differed from the other medical evidence concerning Ms. Boyce’s cause of death and medical management.

“I seek clarification from Moderna’s legal representatives today as to Moderna’s current position and whether that has changed,” Ms. Syrjanen said.

In response, Moderna’s lawyer, Jesse Rudd, said she could not provide instant clarification on the company’s position and has sought time to seek advice.

In February, Moderna engaged its own cardiologist to provide an expert opinion to the court, and asked for extended leave to provide a report from them.

All parties have been given eight weeks to read through Moderna’s report and consider their positions.

The case will return to court on July 17.

Ms. Boyce’s death was the first case where the TGA linked a death to heart complications from either the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines.

According to the federal health department (pdf), data from multiple studies and countries’ surveillance systems have demonstrated a higher risk of myocarditis after the Moderna vaccine compared with Pfizer’s.

AAP contributed to this report.