Toowoomba woman Caitlin Gotze’s mother seeks answers after tragic death after Pfizer vaccine

A heartbroken Toowoomba mother is searching for answers after an autopsy ruled her daughter’s tragic death “yet to be determined”.

Caitlin Gotze was fearless and confident, gentle and kind – she loved animals, had an amazing group of friends around her and was adored by her parents and two brothers.

On November 17, 2021, at the age of 23, Caitlin died suddenly while at work.

Her death has left an enormous hole in the lives of her parents, her two brothers, and her many friends.

Two months later and Caitlin’s death certificate says her cause of death is “yet to be determined”.

This is a fact her mother Raelene Kennedy refuses to live with, and has set out on a mission to seek answers.

“It comes back to getting answers that are true and honest and bringing justice around for her because her death was just shocking,” she said.

“If I had have died like this she would be doing this for me.

“I’m trying to honour her memory.”

It was on that November day when Caitlin collapsed at work, and was located by her colleagues.

Despite efforts to perform CPR she died that afternoon.

Ms Kennedy described Caitlin as “exceptionally healthy”, but said she had started feeling ill in the weeks after receiving her second dose of Pfizer, as a result of a vaccine mandate issued by Racing Queensland.

Caitlin, who is of Aboriginal descent, took herself to hospital after displaying symptoms of asthma in the weeks before her death.

She was sent away with medication.

Aside from that instance, Ms Kennedy said she was a healthy, vibrant, happy young woman.

“The forensic pathologist told me when they concluded the autopsy that her lungs didn’t present the typical signs of asthma,” she said.

“We’re confused. It was highly, highly unusual for that to happen.”

Ms Kennedy said, as a disability support worker herself, she had no qualms about receiving the vaccine.

“I wasn’t worried about Caitlin getting the vaccine,” she said.

“She would do what she wanted to do anyway.

“She had to have it for her work.

“She was very strong, free-willed, independent and just a shining light.”

There has been rare reports of heart conditions like myocarditis and pericarditis presenting in people who received an mRNA vaccine like Pfizer or Moderna, and the potential side effects and symptoms are read out to each person before the vaccine is administered.

A Health Department spokeswoman told News there had been no deaths caused by the Pfizer vaccine in Australia.

“To January 16, 2022, the observed rate of myocarditis for females in the 18-29 year old age group for Comirnaty (Pfizer) following a first dose is 1.3 cases per 100,000 doses and following a second dose is 3.3 cases per 100,000 doses,” the Department spokeswoman said.

“Cases typically occur within 10 days, with symptom onset often within five days of vaccination.”

Caitlin died seven weeks after receiving her second dose of Pfizer.

Ms Kennedy was also told to prepare for the official cause of death to be labelled “undetermined” six months after Caitlin’s death, after tests on Caitlin’s heart and lungs were complete.

As at January 27, more than 3000 people had died from Covid-19 in Australia.

This has included 10 men and three women aged between 20-29.

But Ms Kennedy said she believed people should not “write the risks off” when it came to potential vaccine side-effects, no matter how extremely rare they can be.

“It can happen to you or your children,” she said.

“They’re there one minute and then they’re gone, or their lives are changed forever.”

Ms Kennedy said her priorities now were to find out the real cause of her daughter’s tragic death, while grieving the loss of her only daughter.

“Caitlin was and is my best friend,” she said.

“She was my rock.

“She always had my back.

She was more than a daughter to Ms Kennedy.

“She was stronger than I was, more confident than I was, she was everything that I was not.

“She would fight for a just cause for someone else, for animals, for anything.”

While Ms Kennedy fights for her daughter, embodying the fearlessness Caitlin showed every day of her tragically short life, she is still left without her “best friend”, and her “world”.

“It’s very difficult when you can barely get out of bed,” she said.

“As of Sunday I seem to have turned a corner and gained strength from somewhere.

“Maybe Caitlin’s looking down on me.

“I just need to be strong and put the public eye on this and get an answer.”

Ms Kennedy has set up a Facebook page, Justice 4 Caitlin, for her daughter.

Originally published as Toowoomba woman Caitlin Gotze’s mother seeks answers after tragic death after Pfizer vaccine