Teenager, 15, dies with Covid on the day she was due to get the vaccine

A 15-year-old girl who tested positive for Covid-19 has died on the day that she was due to have her vaccine, her family said.

Jorja Halliday, from Portsmouth, died at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in the Hampshire city on Tuesday, having tested positive for the virus four days earlier.

Her mother, Tracey Halliday, 40, said that Jorja did not have any known underlying medical conditions.

She added: “She was going to have the jab on Tuesday.

“But because she tested positive on Saturday she was isolating. When her isolation period was over she was going to get it.

“The day that she passed away was the day that she would have had it done.”

Ms Halliday said that the GCSE student at The Portsmouth Academy first developed flu-like symptoms before she underwent the PCR test which gave a positive result, leading to her isolating at their home.

She said that Jorja was struggling to eat on Sunday but by Monday she could not eat at all due to her throat hurting.

Ms Halliday said she contacted a doctor who prescribed antibiotics but when Jorja’s condition worsened, she was seen by a doctor who said her heart rate was double what it should be and she was taken to hospital.

Ms Halliday said: “They realised how serious it was and I was still allowed to touch her, hold her hand, hug her and everything else.

“They did allow me that. I’m at the point where I can’t comprehend that it’s happened.

“I was with her the whole time. They tried to put her on a ventilator to give her body a chance to recover.

“Her heart rate didn’t stabilise. Her heart couldn’t take the strain.

“They worked as well as I think they could medically but were unable to save her.

She added: “She had the best of care, I know that they did everything they could to save her.”

Her mother added that Jorja was a “loving girl”, a talented kickboxer and an aspiring musician.

“She was a loving girl and she had lots of friends,” she said. “She was very active, she liked to go out and spend time with her friends and loved spending time with her brothers and sisters.

“Growing up she turned into a beautiful young lady, always wanting to help others, always there for everybody.”

She added: “It’s heart-wrenching because your kids are always meant to outlive you, and that’s the one thing I can’t get over.”

Ms Halliday said that Jorja’s siblings were devastated at her death.

She said that preliminary results from the hospital’s medical examiner indicated Jorja had Covid myocarditis, heart inflammation caused by the virus.