09 April 2023 , 12:39
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The husband of BBC presenter Lisa Shaw, who died after having her first Covid jab, has said that he is taking legal action.
BBC Radio Newcastle host Lisa was just 44 when she died in May 2021 a week after having the injection.
In the days before her death the broadcaster suffered from severe headaches, which turned out to be a bleed on the brain.
After being admitted to hospital, she gave husband Gareth Eve one last kiss and told him “I’m tired” before tragically passing away.
A coroner later ruled the mum-of-one died from extremely rare complications as a result of having the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
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Lisa Shaw was a presenter on BBC Radio Newcastle (Instagram)Now husband Gareth says he has “no option” but to sue the makers of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after failing to get answers elsewhere.
He is part of a group of about 75 claimants, some of whom have lost relatives and some who survived with injuries.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: “It’s not in my make up to turn around and say I want to sue somebody, but for almost two years we’ve tried to engage with the government and MP’s since Lisa died and not one of them had reached out or engaged with us at all.
“That’s the reason we’re left with no alternative – if the government or AstraZeneca don’t want to engage with us, then what else are we supposed to do?”
Lisa died aged 44 in 2021 due to complications from the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine (Instagram)Gareth said all he wanted was “some sort of acknowledgement or recognition that these deaths have occurred”.
He continued: “We’re not crackpots or conspiracy theorists, we’re husbands and wives and family members who have lost somebody.
“These things have happened to too many people and we’re made to feel like it’s a dirty secret, that we’re talking about something we shouldn’t be talking about.
“It’s established it’s been caused by AstaZeneca’s Covid vaccination – it’s not about Covid, it’s not about how many lives the Covid vaccination saved, it’s about what this vaccination has done to Lisa and other families, not about how successful it was or whether somebody is anti-vax.”
He added: “Whatever the money, it’s not going to bring my son’s mam back.”
Lisa with husband Gareth, who she shares son Zachary with (Twitter)In August 2021, Newcastle Coroner Karen Dilks ruled Lisa died from a very rare “vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia”, a condition that leads to swelling and bleeding on the brain.
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The AstraZeneca vaccine was the first jab approved for use in the UK in December 2020 and went on to save thousands of lives.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health said all vaccines had “undergone robust trials” before being rolled out.
The statement added: “More than 144 million Covid vaccines have been given in England, which has helped the country to live with Covid and saved thousands of lives.”
AstraZeneca said: “We are unable to comment on ongoing legal matters. Patient safety is our highest priority and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safest use of all medicines, including vaccines. Our sympathy goes out to anyone who has reported health problems.”
It added clinical trials had proved the Covid jab had an “acceptable safety profile” and that “the benefits outweighed the risks of extremely rare potential side effects”.
Solicitor Peter Todd, from Scott-Moncrieff and Associates acting for the claimants, said damages were being pursued on the basis the vaccine was a “defective product in that it was not as safe as consumers generally were reasonably entitled to expect”.