‘She wanted to do her bit’: Parents call for COVID inquiry after death of daughter

The family of a young woman who died from an extremely rare blood clotting disorder after taking the AstraZeneca vaccine last year have backed recommendations for an inquiry into the pandemic response, saying their daughter would not have taken that vaccine if the federal government had better managed the rollout.

Neither major party has formally committed to holding a wide-ranging inquiry into how the pandemic was handled, but Labor leader Anthony Albanese has said he “can’t envisage” not holding a “proper inquiry” into pandemic management.

Ian and Penny Lees’ daughter, Katie, died after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine last year. She was due to perform her solo comedy show in Sydney in August.Credit: Louise Kennerley

Experts say a transparent critique of the government’s continued pandemic response should examine decisions about the vaccine rollout, supply, communication, treatments and planning for future variants.

“There is a very strong argument for doing an inquiry into the government’s management of the pandemic that should include things like vaccine policy and treatments,” Ian Kerridge, a haematologist and professor of bioethics and medicine at the University of Sydney, said.

There were 88 confirmed cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) in Australia, from more than 13.8 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 doses. Eleven people died from the vaccine, including eight from TTS.

Vaccine advisory group ATAGI initially recommended young people receive the Pfizer vaccine due to the small risk of TTS identified during its rollout in Europe. But with Pfizer in short supply and the risk of infection rising with Delta’s arrival, more than 630,000 under 50s received AstraZeneca in NSW.

ATAGI’s advice was updated on July 24 recommending NSW residents receive either vaccine.

Katie Lees, a 34-year-old Bridgeclimb instructor and stand-up comedian, received her first COVID-19 vaccine on July 22, four weeks into Sydney’s lockdown. Not yet eligible for Pfizer, Lees booked for an AstraZeneca vaccine.

“She was a very community-minded person,” Lees’ mother, Penny, said. “The general message at the time was ‘if you don’t get vaccinated we are never going to get out of lockdown’. She wanted to do her bit to get society moving along.”

At the time, some COVID-free states were already administering Pfizer to under 40s and others advised them to wait for it.

Ian and Penny Lees with Katie’s cousin Nicola Walkerden at the Flightpath Theatre in Marrickville.Credit: Louise Kennerley

On June 28, Prime Minister Scott Morrison encouraged under 40s to speak to their GP about receiving AstraZeneca. An indemnity scheme was announced the same day.

The morning of her shot, Lees told her father, Ian, she was “so proud” to be vaccinated as early as she could, after speaking with a GP.

Lees died 11 days later, after her initial reaction of rash and headaches was misdiagnosed in a GP telehealth appointment. When she arrived at hospital, significant clots had formed in her brain.

In the end, Australia’s death toll from TTS was a fifth of what was projected. Associate Professor Nick Wood, from the National Centre for Immunisation research and Surveillance, said this was because early recognition improved, with surveillance of side effects and patient surveys “critically important”.

Asked if he thought it was reasonable to allow younger people to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine after ATAGI’s initial recommendations, Wood said it was.

Vaccine expert Julie Leask agreed that restricting the use of AstraZeneca once Delta arrived in NSW would have “caused many more deaths”.

“ATAGI was constantly assessing the risks and benefits knowing that AstraZeneca could lead to this rare and serious side effect. But we were an immune-naive population facing a significant risk of rampant disease”.

Monash University haematologist Professor Huyen Tran is involved in two projects examining why some people experienced TTS after AstraZeneca. Although it is now rarely used in Australia, Tran said there was merit in research to show the incidents are “not being swept under the carpet”.

Lees’ family, who stress they are extremely pro-vaccination, felt unable to grieve in the months following her death because it was received as anti-vax. Penny left her role as a western Sydney hospital executive because hearing about COVID-19 and the vaccine rollout was too difficult.

“People now are saying ‘no one is talking about the COVID deaths’,” Lees’ cousin, Nicola Walkerden, said. “But this is how we have felt for nine months.”

On Wednesday, Morrison dismissed questions from reporters about his quietness over Australia’s rising COVID-19 death toll, saying vaccination had saved thousands of lives and the country’s comparatively low overall death toll was “a record Australians can be very proud of”.

The Lees family received $70,680 in compensation under the COVID-19 vaccine claims scheme. Fifteen claims have been approved so far, with about a quarter of the 1900 applications returned needing further information.

The senate select committee on COVID-19 last month recommended a royal commission “to examine Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Lees’ family support the recommendation, particularly reviewing the advice to allow younger people to receive AstraZeneca.

“[Morrison] will always hold in my mind some culpability, for ... [saying] it was only advice, but it was advice from ATAGI, not from your grandmother,” Ian Lees said.

In February 2021, economists Professor Richard Holden and Dr Steven Hamilton argued the first error was not investing in a range of vaccines the previous year given the number of unknowns.

“There was a period where we weren’t as vaccinated as a country as we could have been, and most of the east coast of Australia ended up in a lockdown as a result,” Holden said.

Professor Stephen Duckett, a former secretary of the department of health, agreed.

“Most other countries had invested in multiple vaccines ... we decided to invest in the University of Queensland vaccine and AstraZeneca,” he said, adding a review with a panel of public health experts would be preferable to a “lawyer-heavy” royal commission.

With their daughter due to perform her solo show at Sydney’s Flight Path Theatre last August, the Lees family asked mourners to donate to the theatre after her death. The result is a grant for a young female playwright under the age of 34, the Katie Lees Fellowship, being awarded later this year.

“She was vaccinated to get live shows and performances back. It’s a positive way for her memory to live on,” Ian said.

with James Massola

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