Baby died in bath after mother fainted following Covid jab

A BABY drowned in three inches of bath water after her mother fainted, which was reportedly linked to the Astrazeneca Covid jab, an inquest has heard.

Louise Atkinson, a lawyer, blacked out as she bathed nine-month-old Ellie the day after receiving the first dose of the vaccine.

Her husband, James, found his wife unresponsive on the bathroom floor and their daughter face down in the bath, turning blue.

Mr Atkinson picked Ellie up and woke his wife, before beginning CPR on Ellie while calling 999. Ellie was flown by helicopter from their home in Christchurch, Dorset, to Southampton General Hospital, Hants, but was pronounced dead four hours later on March 23, 2021.

Ellie may have been submerged for up to 30 minutes before Mr Atkinson entered.

A post mortem found “on the balance of probabilities” the cause of death was inhalation of water or drowning.

Mrs Atkinson said she began bathing her daughter in a bath seat in three inches of water at 10.30am.

She told the court: “I started to pick her up and that’s all I can remember. The next thing I can remember is James shouting and pulling at me.”

Mrs Atkinson said it was unusual for her to faint, but she blacked out again while visiting Ellie’s grave the day after receiving her second Oxford-astrazeneca jab in June 2021.

She said she had a sevenday assessment after fainting again. While no definite conclusion was reached, her reaction to the jab was noted as a contributory factor.

Det Sgt Phil Read, of Dorset police, said: “We concluded it was a tragic accident that Ellie had died of drowning in the bath and potentially there were contributing factors to this.”

He cited the “adverse effect of the Covid vaccine”, “a lack of sleep” and not having eaten as potential causes.

Brendan Allen, the Dorset assistant coroner, recorded a verdict of accidental death.