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Autopsy confirms Kansas woman died of allergic reaction to COVID-19 vaccine

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Following an investigation by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment into the death of a Kansas woman last year, an autopsy confirms her cause of death was an allergic reaction to the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

68-year-old Jeanie M. Evans of Effingham, Kansas, received her vaccine in Jefferson County in March 2021. After receiving the shot, she began to experience anaphylaxis, according to KSHB 41's previous reporting.

"The decedent was a 68 year old female with a medical history of hypertension, environmental allergies, "allergic disorder", and reactive airway disease (not asthma), with previous anaphylactic reaction to albuterol," the autopsy report said.

It then described that, on March 23, 2021, about 15 minutes after receiving her first dose of the vaccine, she began to complain that her airway was becoming blocked.

"EMS was called and arrived on scene where she was noted to have severe respiratory distress with labored breathing and stridor and poor oxygen saturation," the report said.

Evans was then transported to the emergency room. She was pronounced dead on March 24.

"Based on the available case history and autopsy findings, it is my opinion that Jeanie Evans, a 68 year old female, died as a result of anaphylaxis due to COVID-19 vaccine administration," the report concluded.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, anaphlaxis after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is rare, with only five people per one million vaccinated experiencing it.

There have been 7,820 deaths due to COVID-19 infections in Kansas and 906,603 deaths in the U.S., according to the CDC.


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