Open verdict returned at inquest into death of Mayo teen who died post vaccine

Louise Roseingrave

The inquest into the death of a boy who died 24 days after his covid vaccine has concluded with an open verdict.

The Coroner for Mayo Pat O'Connor ruled out any link between the boy's vaccination and his death.

Joseph McGinty (14) The Valley, Achill Island, collapsed at home around 5am on the morning of September 13 2021. He suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead in an ambulance on the way to hospital.

The medical cause of death was given as profound adrenal pathology consistent with Addison's Disease.

At Swinford Courthouse in Co Mayo, the Coroner issued three recommendations arising from medical evidence heard at the inquest.

These included full resourcing for staff and equipment at Mayo University Hospital (MUH) where Joseph McGinty received treatment.  Mr O'Connor recommended that a Bereavement Officer be available for those bereaved following a death at at MUH.

The family's legal team had made submissions seeking a verdict of medical misadventure.

The family's solicitor requested permission to read out a statement on their behalf in court, but the Coroner did not allow this.

The inquiry heard three days of evidence last month, from witnesses including Pfizer’s director of vaccines Dr Gillian Ellsbury.

The inquest before Coroner Pat O’Connor heard the schoolboy had been vomiting after meals intermittently for up to four months before he died.

He received his first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine on August 20th at Breaffy House Resort Vaccination Centre.

The Coroner said that based on the evidence, statements and reports before him, there was no connection between the administration of the vaccine and the teen's death 24 days later.