Coroners Court delays decision on Natalie Boyce inquest to allow more time for Moderna

The family of a 21-year-old uni student who died after receiving a Covid-19 booster vaccine could be forced to wait a further 12 months to find justice for her death.

Natalie Boyce, 21, died on March 27, 2022.

The family of a woman in her 20s has continued the fight for a coronial inquest into her death after she received a Covid-19 vaccine, as a further five reports were submitted to the coroner.

Natalie Boyce was 21 when she died five weeks after receiving a Moderna vaccine booster at The Alfred in 2022.

In the Coroners Court on December 11, Coroner Catherine Fitzgerald heard five further expert-witness reports had been submitted to the court, including a report from Triple Zero and a report from Moderna.

Natalie (left) had required the vaccine to go on campus at Deakin Unversity.

The court heard Ms Boyce’s death didn’t occur “in circumstances where an inquest was mandatory”, but Ms Fitzgerald said she had not yet made a decision either way.

“Any inquest will not be held before late 2025,” she said.

In July, Ms Fitzgerald limited the amount of further submissions as medical information piled up.

On Wednesday, the court heard the Moderna party ask for further time to submit evidence from the company’s expert witness, who had been experiencing “health issues” of their own.

Parties represented in court were Triple Zero Victoria, Moderna, Monash Health, Alfred Health, Eastern Health and the Boyce family.

Boyce family lawyer Shannon Finnegan said she would continue to argue for an inquest.

“In the interests of justice and in order to hold the parties accountable for what happened to Ms Boyce, we believe an inquest should be held,” she said.

Ms Boyce was diagnosed with lupus when she was 15 and was a student at Deakin University.

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Natalie spent the final three weeks of her life unconscious.

She had fainted the day after receiving the Moderna booster, had a fever and stomach pain, and had been vomiting.

Her condition declined further before she spent her final three weeks of life unconscious.

Ms Boyce had required the vaccination to go to her university campus.

According to her death certificate, she died from myocardial infarction with subacute myocarditis.

Ms Fitzgerald adjourned the matter to a date to be fixed to give Moderna the time requested.