AstraZeneca Covid vaccine: Ministers urged to support families

Zion's fiancee said he was healthy and exercised regularly

A woman whose fiancé died after having the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine has called for "struggling" families to be added to a government damages scheme.

Vikki Spit from Alston, Cumbria, said she felt "abandoned" following the death of musician partner Zion in May.

Only people left severely disabled due to government-recommended vaccines are eligible for a £120,000 payment.

A Department of Health spokesperson said funding was available for "additional support".

Applications can also be made on behalf of someone who has died after becoming severely disabled.

• Presenter's death due to complications of Covid vaccine

• Widower calls for easier access to vaccine damages

• Is the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine safe?

Zion, who was a singer in a rock band, suffered from an "excruciating" headache eight days after his injection, his fiancée said.

He died in Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary.

The 48-year-old's interim fact-of-death certificate lists complications of the vaccine as a possible factor, and an inquest is due to be held.

Vikki Spit has applied to the scheme for financial support

Ms Spit, 38, said her household income had "massively dropped" since her partner's death, and applied to the scheme for support in June but had heard nothing more.

She said people who should have been "looked after" had instead been "left in the dark feeling like another statistic".

"For me, I don't know if I will get anything because it very clearly says about disability. It doesn't say anything about being killed by a vaccine, so I don't know," she said.

The couple, who performed together in the band Spit Like This, were due to get married last month having postponed plans in 2020 due to the pandemic.

"We have been together for almost half my life - it's literally like having half of yourself ripped away, especially when it happened so suddenly," she added.

"There are people who are really struggling and finding it really difficult, all because they just did the right thing.

"They did what the government was telling us to do - to protect everyone, to bring the country back to normal, and their lives have just been shattered."

'Vaccines essential'

Ms Spit said she would probably still be happy to receive another Covid-19 jab as long as it was not the AstraZeneca vaccine.

She added she was "a lot more cautious" now but said "vaccines are essential, clearly".

The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme is operated by the NHS Business Services Authority, based in Newcastle.

As of 25 October, 437 applications in respect of Covid-19 vaccines had been received, the government said.

A government spokesperson said: "The vaccine damage payments scheme provides additional support to help ease the burden on individuals who have, in extremely rare circumstances, been severely disabled due to receiving a government-recommended vaccine for a listed disease.

"All vaccines being used in the UK have undergone robust clinical trials and have met the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA) strict standards of safety, effectiveness and quality."

The BBC North East & Cumbria Impact Team asked if this meant people who died after complications from the vaccine who were not severely disabled were eligible, and the government said it was only for the severely disabled.

It added that if someone died after certain vaccinations, a relative may qualify for a Bereavement Support Payment.

AstraZeneca did not wish to comment.

The couple had been in a rock band before moving to Cumbria

As of 10 November, there have been 425 cases of blood clots with low platelet counts in people who had the AstraZeneca vaccine in the UK, with 73 deaths, six of which occurred after the second dose, according to data from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

An estimated 24.8 million first doses of that vaccine have been administered, and about 24.1 million second doses.

In the same period there were 24 cases in people given the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, with four deaths, and two cases in those receiving the Moderna vaccine, with no deaths reported.

By this date about 24.2 million first doses of Pfizer/BioNTech and about 1.5 million Moderna vaccine first doses had been administered in the UK.

MHRA advice remains that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks in the majority of people.

Almost 51 million people in the UK have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, and the Department of Health and Social Care said vaccinations had saved more than 120,000 lives.

The government states "vaccination is the single most effective way to reduce deaths and severe illness from Covid-19", and the safety of Covid-19 vaccines is being "continuously monitored", as with all vaccines and medicines.