Evee's Story

Evee Gayle Clobes August 19th, 2018-March 1st, 2019

Evee is Precious Evee is Loved Evee is Remembered Evee Matters We will fight for Answers We will fight for Justice ​ But the one thing we Wish We could do Most That We Cannot Is give her Back.

About Evee

On Wednesday, February 27, 2019, Catie Clobes of Howard Lake, Minnesota brought her happy, healthy, well-developed 6-month-old baby girl Evee Gayle Clobes to her well-baby checkup, whereupon the pediatrician declared her to be in “perfect health” with no problems or concerns. After Evee was examined by her pediatrician, the nurse administered her shots according to the CDC recommended schedule – 6 doses total, via Pediarix and Prevnar.

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The day after her shots, she developed a sandpaper-red rash on her cheeks. Her eyes looked sleepy and glossed-over, and she began shaking her head back and forth very frequently, more than she had before. Her mother thought she had learned to say "no." - See Warning Signs Video

The evening of Thursday February 28th, Evee was unusually sleepy when her mother put her to bed on her back, and checked her at approximately 11:00 p.m. She checked on her periodically throughout the night. On Friday March 1st at 7:00 a.m., Catie discovered her daughter on her back, lifeless and not breathing, and called 911. Evee was rushed to Buffalo Hospital and pronounced dead on arrival.



The Anoka County Medical Examiner assured Ms. Clobes on the day of her daughter’s death that “every test” would be performed, and confirmed that the shots administered approximately 36-hours prior to her death would definitely be investigated as a possible cause. The medical officer told her that infant deaths were taken very seriously, and she trusted that. At this point, they medical examiner had the full investigative report from detectives and interview from the mother, there was no insinuation from the medical examiner that they believed Evee's death was related to her position in the bed.



When Ms. Clobes followed up with the Medical Examiner’s Office in subsequent weeks to confirm that necessary tests were being performed to definitively confirm or rule out injury from her injections, including tests to measure critical proteins, enzymes, serum levels of adjuvants, and markers for inflammation, she was told, “It’s not medically necessary, there is no medical reasoning, and it’s not medically approved.”

She was informed that vaccines are not a “medically accepted” cause of death, nor does a code exist to classify them as a cause of death, and SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, defined as the unexplained death of an otherwise healthy infant) would appear on Evee’s autopsy report as the determined cause of death.



Evee’s family found this determination unacceptable in absence of complete data and examination. With the help of friends in their surrounding community, a fundraiser was launched, which raised the money needed to commission a private neuropathological study at an accredited independent lab. Initial results have shown the presence of a severe immune activation and cell infiltration in the brain in the absence of any infection – but not all the samples requested were sent.

Despite recent reports in the media that two autopsies have already been completed, the independent examination and report was never able to be completed due to the withholding of essential tissues. That is a large part of this battle, and why fundraising for Evee's cause is still happening.

The family has experienced hostility, threats, and violations of their rights from the County and now need legal representation beyond the NCVIP to pursue the full study. Evee’s family is actively working through their grief to understand the cause of Evee’s death and learn why the County Medical Examiner’s Office refuses to carry out its duty in this investigation. They have one request of their fellow citizens: Remember Evee and ensure that she and so many other victims of SIDS are treated with care and dignity by their doctors, the CDC, and the Medical Examiner’s Office.



No family should discover in their grief following the death of a loved one that the Medical Examiner’s Office refuses to investigate all possible causes of their loved one’s death. Also, they should not be left to bear the financial and emotional burden of privately commissioning an adequate and thorough medical examination.

The amendment of a cause of death, without new evidence, six-months after the completion of an autopsy is nearly unheard of. It was only when her family began asking for specific tissues to be sent to the independent examiner that the County Medical Examiner threatened to amend the cause of death. On all initial examination reports, including the final autopsy report, they concluded that positional asphyxia could not be confirmed. Yet, it was still amended months later when the medical examiner no longer wanted to provide further tissues to Evee's mother.

Deliberately changing the cause of death has opened up this family to immense scrutiny, and the media has not reported that for the first 6-months of this journey, the cause of death was officially, "unknown." Safely co-sleeping with an infant, with no blankets or pillows, who is able to roll from all sides and fully push up is not a risk factor. Also, it is important to note that the medical examiner never accused Evee's mother of rolling on her infant, as has been insinuated in many recent media reports.

When a patient dies after receiving any medical procedure, prescription or over-the-counter drug, or if there is any indication of recreational drug use or accidental injury, comprehensive tests are performed to confirm or rule out any and all potential causes of death. Vaccination is the only frequently indicated potential cause of death for which comprehensive tests are not performed to confirm or rule it out.



There has been an average of 25 SIDS deaths per year in Minnesota over the past decade, and 1,777 SIDS deaths per year nationally.* These numbers do not include the deaths from the other 27 classifications and cause of death codes used after a potential vaccine injury-related death in an infant. Despite years of research and millions of private and public dollars committed to investigating the cause these deaths, little progress has been made in understanding them. Willful refusal to run necessary standard tests, which could provide valuable scientific data and bring closure and solace to grieving families, is unconscionable and inexplicable.



The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) is a taxpayer-funded federal program established in 1986 to compensate victims of vaccine injuries and their families, which allows a maximum compensation amount of $250,000 for deaths caused by vaccination. The NVICP and the Institute of Medicine, as well as thousands of privately conducted peer-reviewed scientific studies confirm that vaccine injuries can and do cause injuries and deaths in some people.

Failure to adequately conduct standard tests, which measure scientifically established markers of vaccine injury, denies families access to the compensation, closure, and information they deserve. As of today, they have awarded over $4 billion in compensation since the program’s inception to victims of vaccine injury and death. However, according to a Harvard Pilgrim Study, less than 1% of severe vaccine injuries are ever reported.

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In the case of death following vaccinations, the NVICP exists to determine whether or not the immunizations played a role in the death. Unfortunately, county medical examiners are not trained or instructed to collect the necessary proofs or data to confirm/rule out the role of vaccines in the death. This is why it is essential to allow families legal access to their loved one's tissues for independent examination, as it often takes more time, resources, and expensive testing that can reach beyond the capabilities of a county medical examination office. That is all this family wanted to do following the tragic death of this baby. However, their rights have been blocked and subverted.

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Evee's story is being told in order to bring attention to the lack of medical examination following sudden infant deaths. Her family deserves answers that have not yet been given, despite the death certificate amendment. Every family deserves answers. Dozens of other families have reached out with similar stories, and similar lack of medical examination following their child's death. This is not an isolated incident.

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If you believe you or a loved one may have suffered a vaccine injury, please look into reporting the event to the VAERS database. Anyone can file a report, but there is important information you will need from your medical professional, and it is always best to ask them to file it, so they can be educated about the process for the future as well. This database helps to gather data on vaccine injuries, as well as to establish a true picture of vaccine injury in the United States today.

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Please Visit "Catie's Story," to hear from her directly about the events surrounding Evee's death.

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*Statistics extracted from the CDC Wonder database 2008-2017; data includes deaths classified as SIDS only, and does not consider other SUID causes.