[6][7] In addition to her work on radio, Shaw was a compere and voiceover artist, and wrote a column for regional newspaper The Sunday Sun.

Her family told media reporters that, days after having received a first dose of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, Shaw, who was not known to have any underlying health problems, became seriously ill and was treated for blood clots and cerebral bleeding.

[10] Sky News reported that senior Newcastle coroner Karen Dilks had issued an interim fact-of-death certificate citing a "complication of AstraZeneca COVID-19 virus vaccination" as a consideration.

[11][12] BBC News reported in August 2021 that the coroner had concluded in her final judgment that it was "clearly established" Shaw's death was caused by an extremely rare "vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia", a condition which leads to a brain haemorrhage.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published medical recommendations for the condition in July 2021 matching the treatment Shaw was given.