There follows a guest post by Claire Hibbs, who was injured by the AstraZeneca vaccine and is now part of a group campaigning for a proper compensation scheme for those injured or bereaved by the Covid vaccines.
In late 2020, nine months into the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced that a Covid vaccine had been approved and was being rolled out to stop the spread of the virus and save lives, ready for use in December 2020.
This was exciting news for many. Our lives had been placed on hold for far too long and we were ready to resume our lives as they were pre-pandemic; the vaccine was our way out. We all waited patiently for our turn to have our first jab. While waiting, the media was full of stories of how wonderful these vaccines were and that we absolutely must get this jab. It was suggested if you don’t get the jab you are being selfish. The Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers were telling us daily on TV that we must have it, as well as every news channel and road signs everywhere telling us the same; GPs were sending letters, flyers were coming through the door, doctors were all over the TV with some doctors even suggesting the AstraZeneca vaccine was 100% safe and effective. This of course was what we were all hoping for and most of us believed.
My turn came on March 31st 2021, slightly early for my age group (48), but I helped out an elderly gentleman who lived on my road who was quite poorly so I wanted to protect him.
I took my jab as told to do so and all seemed fine. Five days later was when things changed. In the afternoon of the bank holiday Monday, all of a sudden I had a thunderbolt of a headache. I began to shiver and started to feel nauseous. I had to lie down as I felt so poorly. This continued for five days but got worse. By the Friday I was in a CT scanning machine in A&E. Fortunately, the scan came back clear and I was told I had a migraine and I could go home – but as a migraine sufferer from childhood I knew this was not a migraine.
Read More: Why Has the Government Still Not Compensated the Vaccine Injured and Bereaved?