Health
Man who took own life after vaccine complications was denied pay out
An NHS pharmacist who took his own life after the Covid vaccine left him suffering with paralysing complications has his request for compensation rejected.
John Cross was told by the official medical assessor for the government’s Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) that the Covid vaccine had caused his rare neurological effects but he wasn’t disabled enough for a payment.
The VDPS was set up in 1979 to make one-off payments of £120,000 to people who have suffered rare, but significant, side effects to various vaccines.
Mr Cross was a strong supporter of vaccination and was eager to get his jab to protect vulnerable and elderly relatives but two weeks after his first dose he began to suffer from progressive paralysis that travelled through his body.
He was unable to move, blink or breathe and was admitted to intensive care where he was given a breathing tube in his neck and nursing staff had to tape his eyes closed so he could sleep.
Doctors eventually diagnosed Mr Cross with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy, swelling of the nerves that leads to a loss of strength and sensation, and relapsed several times.
John Cross pictured in hospital where he spent seven months recovering after being diagnosed with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy
Mr Cross eventually learned to eat, walk and talk again but his mobility and fitness never returned to the level it was before he got sick
After seven months in hospital recovering, he slowly learned to eat, walk and talk again but his mobility and fitness never returned to the level it was before he got sick. He was left with chronic pain and numbness and relapsed several times.
Doctors urged Mr Cross to submit a claim to the VDPS but after a two years of delays, only one review of his medical records and no face-to-face assessment, his claim was rejected.
His widow, Christine, told Sky News: ‘Nobody spoke to him. There was no personal contact, nothing. Just fill in this form and that was it.
‘I’m very angry. John went through enough with the illness and the recovery without going through the trauma of this bureaucracy.’
His mental health began declining shortly after the rejection and he eventually took his own life in October 2023 after another flare-up meant he would have to receive more gruelling treatment.
Mr Cross’s eldest son, Adam, said his father dreaded the intense dialysis-like treatment to remove rogue antibodies from his blood because it left him extremely fatigued for days after.
Mr Cross had begun gathering medical evidence to have the judgement overturned before he took his own life but he became increasingly anxious and overwhelmed.
His family told Sky News that they are going to try have the judgement overturned and are calling for urgent reform to the government’s Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.
His widow, Christine, told Sky News: ‘I’m very angry. John went through enough with the illness and the recovery without going through the trauma of this bureaucracy’
His family told Sky News that they are going to try have the judgement overturned and are calling for urgent reform to the government’s Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme. Pictured left to right: His daughter, Liz Whitehead, and his two sons Adam and Phillip
His youngest son, Phillip Cross, said: ‘We want some good out of this and to get the system changed in memory of dad.
‘You look at everything and it’s just wrong. It’s unjust.’
His daughter, Liz Whitehead, said: ‘We’ve all had our vaccinations. And we continue to since we’ve lost dad.
‘But now you start to question. If a rare, unusual thing were to take place, the system’s not got your back. It’s not there for you… is it worth the risk?’
Under the VDPS, a medical examiner assesses patient records and testimonies from doctors involved in the claimant’s care.
The claimant must be deemed to be 60 per cent disabled to qualify for payment. For example, an amputation below the knee would be deemed sufficient for a payout.
However, the Cross family’s solicitor, Peter Todd, of Scott-Moncrieff and Associates, said medical assessors struggle to make ‘apples and pears’ comparisons with complex damage from vaccines.
He said: ‘The threshold is often misunderstood as being very high, akin to being totally paralysed.
‘But it isn’t. It’s a much lower standard, and they have to take into account both the physical disablement and the psychological impact.’
Mr Todd has tracked the number of applications sent to the VDPS. Before the pandemic there were a few dozen each year but 14,000 people have made claims since the COVID vaccine rollout in late 2020 according to Freedom of Information requests submitted by Mr Todd to the NHS Business Services Authority.
Just over 6,000 have been given news of an outcome so far and 180 people have been told they would be given a payment.
Another 350 people have been told that the vaccine caused their complications on the balance of probabilities but that they didn’t meet the 60% disability threshold for a pay out.
A new ‘stronger’ Covid variant is spreading across Europe and the world, as experts warn it is ‘just getting started’.
The XEC strain was first detected in Germany in June and has been identified in 15 countries across three continents.
According to experts, the strain could become the dominant variant within months when the weather gets cold.
Director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California Eric Topol said XEC is ‘just getting started now around the world and here’.
Speaking to the LA Times, he added: ‘And that’s going to take many weeks, a couple months, before it really takes hold and starts to cause a wave.
The XEC strain was first detected in Germany in June and has been identified in 15 countries across three continents. (Stock photo)
The XEC strain could become dominant within weeks or months when the weather gets colder
‘XEC is definitely taking charge. That does appear to be the next variant.
‘But it’s months off from getting into high levels.’
Regional chief of infectious diseases for Kaiser Permanente Southern California Dr Elizabeth Hudson said health experts will continue to monitor the variant in the coming weeks.
Dr Hudson said that XEC has been reported in western Europe including Germany and the Netherlands and it is spreading quickly.
XEC has shown up in the US but its prevalence is low so far.
The strain, which is a combination of the KS.1.1 and KP.3.3 variants, causes symptoms that are similar to those you experience with common illnesses such as flu and colds.
Most people will get better within a few weeks, but for others it could take longer to recover and some may even require hospitalisation.
Usual symptoms include a high temperature, continuous cough, loss of sense of taste or smell, shortness of breath and feeling tired or exhausted.
Also, usual cold-like symptoms such as a headache, a sore throat, a blocked or runny nose are common as well as a loss of appetite, diarrhoea, feeling sick or being sick
Usual symptoms include a high temperature, continuous cough, loss of sense of taste or smell. (Stock photo)
The XEC strain comes after health experts were warning about the FLiRT variant sweeping the UK
The arrival of XEC comes after warnings of the FLiRT variant sweeping across the UK in spring and summer this year.
FLiRT was used to describe a family of variants, KP.2, KP.3, JN.1.7, JN.1.1, and KP.1.1 which were all descendants of the JN.1 variant.
The UK’s latest figures show there has been a 4.3 per cent uptick in Covid cases week-on-week.
England also reported 102 deaths linked to Covid up until August 30.
During the same period, hospitals noted 1,465 Covid admissions.
But the UK Health Agency has not yet provided detailed data about the XEC variant.
EDO DECIDES: AGAIN, POLICE ARREST POLITICAL THUGS, PARTY LOYALISTS FOR VOTE BUYING, RECOVERS CASH AND INCRIMINATING ITEMS.
Where are they now? Man Utd’s 8 wonderkids from FIFA 15 a decade later
Man who took own life after vaccine complications was denied pay out
-
Politics7 months agoNigerian Senate passes Bill seeking the establishment of the South East Development Commission.
-
Business7 months agoInflation hits record high of 29.90% on naira weakness
-
Politics4 months agoBREAKING: Federal Gov’t Offers To Pay Above N60,000, Reaches Agreement With Labour
-
SportsNews6 months agoOlympic Qualifiers 2024: CAF Confirms Dates For Super Falcons Vs Banyana Banyana
-
Politics6 months agoGovernor Hope Uzodinma’s New Cabinet In Imo: The Gainers, The Losers
-
Entertainment7 months agoAmerican Singer Beyonce makes history as first Black woman to top country chart
-
Politics4 months agoBREAKING: Organized Labour suspends strike for one week.
-
Business7 months agoReasons we cannot sell cement below N7,000, by Dangote, Bua, Lafarge