The family of a 'heroic' mum who died from 'unrecognised and rare complications' arising from the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine say she had the jab to 'protect herself and her loved ones'.
Michelle Barlow, 51, fell ill around a week after receiving her first dose in March.
She was admitted to hospital and died on March 23.
Today (Friday), a coroner ruled her death was the result of a 'very rare' side effect of the AstraZeneca jab, having suffered a blood clot.
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Following an inquest at Bolton Coroners Court, senior coroner Timothy Brennand also said there were 'potential missed opportunities' to save Mrs Barlow, who worked as a civil servant for the Department of Work and Pensions.
Speaking following the hearing, Michelle's husband, Ian, said: "I'm happy and sad.
"I'm sad Michelle is not here. I'm happy our family has got the answers we wanted."
Mr Barlow said his wife decided to be vaccinated as she wanted to protect herself and her loved ones.
"We both decided to get it to protect ourselves, our families and others around us," he added.
"We trusted it.
"I'm not saying people should not have it. People do need the vaccine. I'm saying check it out first, if it's right for you.
"I had a close friend who died of Covid, so I have seen it from both sides."
Michelle, a mother-of-two from Orrell in Wigan, was put forward to receive the vaccine early due to an error on her GP records, which stated she was a carer for her husband.
The mistake was the result of her having accidentally ticked a box on a touch screen facility at the Mesnes View Surgery on a previous occasion.
In the days following her jab, Michelle began to experience 'flu-like symptoms' and later developed headaches, diarrhoea, nausea and abdominal pain.
By March 19, her symptoms had become 'overwhelming' so she sought help at Wigan Infirmary.
Tests were carried out, which showed she had a low blood platelet count and doctors suspected she had a gastroenteritis infection.
She was discharged and told to return for a check-up the following week.
Michelle's condition failed to improve and she was readmitted to hospital the next day.
Doctors continued to treat her for gastroenteritis and it was not until a CT scan on her lungs revealed a blood clot that they began to suspect a possible adverse reaction to the vaccine.
While she was in hospital, the inquest heard there was a 12-hour delay in administering blood thinners to Michelle.
Dr Mian Ahmed, a consultant physician at Wigan Infirmary, said Michelle's condition - vaccine-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT) - was not recognised at the time.
While Michelle was in hospital, her son Googled the symptoms she was suffering, and it showed how other doctors were saving the lives of people with similar complications.
Marius Paraoan, a surgeon at the hospital, said that after the viewing the CT scan, he concluded that her condition was 'unsurvivable'.
She died in the early hours of March 23.
Mr Brennand described Michelle's death as 'a particularly difficult and sensitive case'.
He ruled that her cause of death was 'multi-organ failure as a consequence of pulmonary embolism as a consequence of vaccine-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT)'.
Delivering a narrative conclusion, Mr Brennand said: "Michelle Barlow died as a consequence of an unrecognised and rare complications of a recently administered, elective and necessary Covid-19 vaccination."
Mr Brennand said medics had displayed 'a lack of professional curiosity compounded by an element of confirmation bias' in continuing to persist with the initial gastroenteritis diagnosis.
But the coroner said he was unable to determine whether Mrs Barlow could have been saved if doctors had recognised her bad reaction to the vaccine was causing her illness.
He added: "Between March 20 and 22, elements of sub-optimal care, management and treatment have been identified but whether they had any bearing on the eventual outcome cannot be evaluated.
"The tragedy for the family is that it might have done."
He went on to praise Michelle's family for the 'compassion, insight and dignity' they displayed throughout the inquest.
Yesterday, the inquest heard that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) had this month produced guidance suggesting a possible link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and the 'very rare' side effect of blood clots.
A total of 425 cases of major blood clots had been identified in people who had taken the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Of the 425 cases, 215 in women and 206 in men, 154 cases related to blood clots in the head and 271 in other parts of the body.
Of the 425 cases, the ages ranged from 18 to 93, with 101 cases in the 50 to 59 age range, 19 of which were among the 73 fatal cases in total.
A total of 24.8 million people had been given the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 24.1 million people had been double-jabbed with the same medicine.
