Katie told her father she was going to get the Covid vaccine. He had no idea it would be their last conversati – Daily Mail

The devastated family of a fit and healthy young actor who died a fortnight after taking a Covid vaccine have called out the callous 'indifference' of society and government to her death.

Katie Lees, 34, took the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in July 2021, driven by her desire to 'do her bit' to help bring lockdown to an end.

But just 13 days later her family were forced to make the harrowing decision to turn off her life support.

Ms Lees, an actor and comedian who lived in Sydney's inner-west, had suffered a severe vaccine-induced blood clot in her brain.

'The last time I ever spoke to her on the morning of July 22 (and) she said, "Im getting my AstraZeneca this afternoon." She said to me how proud she was for doing it,' Katie's father, Ian, told news.com.au.

'It turned out that was the last time I would ever speak to her. She was actually following the governments advice, trying to do the right thing for the sake of the community.'

Mr Lees, 66, said the hardest part about his daughter's death was that people didn't believe the vaccine had killed her and met the news with 'silence, mockery, discrediting and disbelief'.

'Wed say to people our daughter died from the AstraZeneca vaccine and theyd say, "Oh really? How do you know?",' he said.

In a public submission to the federal governments Covid Response Inquiry, Ms Lee's parents said they were galled by the 'indifference of our society to her death'.

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'Every morning, our first thought is how Katie died and the sinking feeling that we were used and discarded by our government, by AstraZeneca and by our society,' they wrote.

They added: 'Katie did not need the vaccine she wouldnt have died if she got Covid.

'Katie took this action, not because she was worried about getting Covid, but because she was deeply concerned about the impact of lockdowns on the life of communities and the mental health of individuals.'

The AstraZeneca vaccine was estimated to have saved millions of lives during the pandemic but it also caused rare, and sometimes fatal, blood clots.

In April, AstraZeneca admitted in a UK court that its vaccine could, in very rare instances, could lead to Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, which causes people to have blood clots and a low blood platelet count.

The vaccine, which was discontinued in Australia in March 2023, was withdrawn globally last month with the manufacturer citing commercial reasons for the decision.

Of the 14 Australians acknowledged by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to have died from Covid vaccines, 13 were from AstraZeneca and one from Moderna.

Just under 14 million AstraZeneca jabs were successfully administered across Australia, meaning that

Over 71 million jabs were successfully administered across Australia, meaning that vaccine deaths account for a miniscule fraction of the total.

Daily Mail Australia contacted AstraZeneca for comment.

Ms Lees developed headaches and a rash immediately after her vaccination but doctors did not think anything of it.

Just over a week later on AUgust 1 she woke up with a severe headache and started vomiting.

A CT scan showed a severe clot in her brain.

'Katie slipped into deep unconsciousness around 3pm and never regained consciousness,' her parents wrote in their submission to the inquiry.

'Despite this catastrophic brain injury, undergoing subsequent neurosurgery and being on life support, due to Covid restrictions, we were not permitted to visit Katie until two days after she was admitted.'

The devastated family said that they had been left 'emotionally, mentally and physically traumatised by the way Katie died, the lack of support from government and the pharmaceutical industry and the alienation we feel from the mainstream narrative in our society'.

They have called for an apology from the federal government and more clarity in public health communication about the safety of vaccines.

In addition, they want to see 'substantial increases in the amounts paid to the loved ones of someone who dies from a government-mandated vaccination program'.

The family who received $70,000 in compensation for Katies death, said they hated being branded 'anti-vaxxers'.

They set up the Katie Lees Foundation in March 2023 to support female artists an performers.

Buta funding body asked her parents to remove a statement saying that Katie died from the AstraZeneca vaccine because 'they were a "pro-vaccination" organisation', they claimed.

The Covid Response Inquiry is expected to publish its report in Spring.

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Katie told her father she was going to get the Covid vaccine. He had no idea it would be their last conversati - Daily Mail