Orange County woman dies after second dose of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine sparks family concern

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) – The Orange County coroner’s office is investigating the death of a woman who died just days after receiving her second dose of the Moderna vaccine.

The family say the grandmother was in good health before she was vaccinated and her sudden death was a shock.

A conversation with staff at the Orange County Coroner’s Office regarding Griselda Flores’ death raised red flags for her son Richard Cardenas and the family.

“They made it sound like it wasn’t the first call they had,” Cardenas said.

Deputy Chief Coroner Brad Olsen says it’s true.

Olsen told Eyewitness News that a handful of the deaths, including that of Flores, are under investigation because they occurred one to three days after the person received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine .

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“This means our doctors want to conduct additional studies, whether it’s toxicology, microphones, or just reviewing medical records to see their treatment, and look for these other underlying conditions,” Olsen said.

“But we have not yet come to the conclusion that the vaccine has anything to do directly with the causes of death,” he added.

Cardenas says his mother was a healthy, outgoing and hardworking mother and grandmother.

The day after her second injection on April 14 at a CVS store in Orange, Flores complained of the expected side effects, such as chills, body aches and fever.

“She looked really pale, and she just said she was tired and was going to go home and sleep,” Cardenas recalls.

Two days after her second dose, Flores’ family say they found her dead in her room.

“I’m very, very worried about public safety because now it’s like my mom is dead, how many more people are going to die?” Said Cardenas.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that in the United States, there have been fewer than two deaths per 100,000 COVID-19 vaccines administered. Investigations into the deaths did not reveal that the vaccinations contributed to the deaths of the patients.

A person has a higher chance of dying if they contract the COVID-19 virus, according to figures from the California Department of Public Health – 1,660 deaths per 100,000 cases.

Olsen says the deaths awaiting investigation date back to January and those who died, both men and women, received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.

Results from other studies may come three months after death, perhaps longer.

“If our doctors recognize anything, anywhere, during the death investigation process that would lead to a public health or public safety issue, we would immediately set off these alarms through our county health care partners. ‘Orange,’ Olsen said.