The death of a young New Zealand plumber from a side effect of the Covid-19 vaccine should have been prevented by informing him of the risks before receiving the vaccine, a coroner has found.
Rory Nairn, 26, died from heart inflammation (myocarditis) 12 days after receiving his first dose of the Comirnaty (Pfizer) vaccine at a New Zealand pharmacy in 2021.
Coroner Sue Johnson found the condition to be a rare but recognized side effect which should have been made known to Nairn before receiving the injection.
A report published on Monday by Health and Disability Commissioner Morag McDowell found that the pharmacist had not informed the young man about the severity of his condition or what symptoms to look out for.
Nairn, who was unaware of the risk and symptoms, thought his chest pains were due to the stress of selling his house and getting married, his fiancee Ashleigh Wilson said.
‘He was 26 years old and did not suffer from any pre-existing illness. He played rugby, scuba-dived and hunted on weekends, worked hard as a plumber and had his whole life ahead of him, Wilson said on social media.
Despite the fatal oversight of failing to warn Mr Nairn of the dangers, the pharmacy will not be penalized for its role in his death, with Ms McDowell citing the “unprecedented” conditions that existed during the Covid pandemic.
Rory Nairn (pictured), a traditional athlete who died of myocarditis related to the Pfizer vaccine, was not informed about the dangerous side effect by the pharmacist who injected him.
“Ms. McDowell concluded that, in light of important mitigating factors, it would be disproportionately harsh to find the pharmacy in breach of the Code, and that an educational approach was more appropriate,” the report reads.
The commissioner also noted that the vaccine was relatively new at the time and that “information on its use, risks and side effects was not yet available.”
It also found that none of the official sources explicitly told providers to inform those getting vaccinated about myocarditis.
The 26-year-old had no idea about the condition and attributed his chest pains to the stress of selling and buying a house and planning a wedding with his fiancée Ashleigh Wilson (pictured).
New Zealand’s Health and Disability Commissioner said pharmacy would not be disciplined due to ‘unprecedented’ conditions during pandemic (file image)
Despite “significant mitigating factors,” Ms. McDowell continued to criticize the pharmacy’s operating procedures.
“Given the severity of the risk of myocarditis and the volume of information, communication to providers could reasonably be expected to emphasize or highlight the risk in some way,” he said.
The Australian Department of Health says the risk of myocarditis is highest in people aged 16 to 30 and is higher in men than women.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) says around one or two in every 100,000 Australians who receive the Pfizer vaccine develop the condition.
The TGA’s latest vaccine safety report, from November 2023, found more than 130,000 adverse reactions from more than 68 million Covid vaccines.