Any analysis of vaccine status in the inquest could be used to “harm vaccine confidence.”
39 babies died in Scotland within 28 days of their birth in September 2021 and March of 2022, triggering an automatic investigation into the causes behind their deaths, for the first time since monitoring began in 2017.
The Herald reported last week that Healthcare Improvement Scotland has begun their investigation, appointing retired consultant neonatologist Dr Helen Mactier to chair the expert panel, which should report back their findings in the Autumn.
Preliminary investigations couldn’t find a “direct link” between either the mothers or children being infected with COVID-19, but that chance variations were unlikely. One potential cause identified was the “social and economic pressures of the pandemic period,” including neonatal staff absences caused by the pandemic.