Victims of AstraZeneca

Dr. Stephen Wright

On January 16th 2021, Dr. Stephen Wright, a healthy 32-year-old child psychologist and married father of two children, updated his Facebook profile picture. A photograph of himself and his wife, Charlotte, taken at their wedding in June 2018, now bore the NHS logo and a white circle in which a crown and heart were surrounded by the declaration: “I’ve had my Covid vaccination.” It was later revealed to be the AstraZeneca vaccine. Dr. Wright had just been promoted to his new position as Senior Clinical Psychologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, and was due to start on February 1st.

Instead, in the early hours of January 26th, 10 days after his injection, Dr. Wright suffered what was later diagnosed as a cerebral venous stroke. The previous evening he had fallen asleep after refusing dinner, and when he awoke complained of pins and needles. With his arm moving uncontrollably, his wife called an ambulance and by the time the paramedics arrived Dr. Wright’s blood pressure was so high they advised him to visit hospital for further checks. Due to coronavirus-justified regulations, his wife was not permitted to accompany him to King’s College Hospital. Two MRI scans revealed massive bleeding on the brain, and he was placed on life support. Later that day he died. At his request, Dr. Wright’s organs were donated, and his wife reported that his lungs went to a man in his thirties and his heart to a teenage boy. His wife subsequently told the Independent that she “does not disagree with the rollout” of the COVID-19 “vaccination programme”; adding: “I know why they had to do it and that they had to do it”.

David Mears

On March 4th 2021, David Mears, a 58-year-old former world champion in Taekwondo and teacher who had moved to Taiwan before lockdown restrictions bankrupted his bar and forced him to return to England, was injected with his first dose of the viral vector AstraZeneca vaccine. Within hours he developed a fever, which grew progressively worse over the course of the month. On April 10th, his left foot began to swell and he was rushed to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. Two days later, he said, “my foot exploded, there was blood everywhere”. Mr. Mears was initially told that he might lose a few toes, but his left leg was later amputated below the knee. Recalling that he became ill on the night of his injection, Mr. Mears said: “I think it has got to be linked. It has put me off having the second one.”

It’s possible that Mr. Mears suffered from deep vein thrombosis. Scientific studies have admitted a link between the viral vector AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots, with 445 cases of major thrombo-embolic events (blood clots) and concurrent thrombocytopenia (low platelet counts) reported to the MHRA as of November 23rd 2022. All but 51 of these were reported, as happened with Mr. Mears, after the first injection, and 81 of them resulted in death. However, because he had been told by the NHS that flu-like symptoms were among the expected reactions to the vaccine, Mr. Mears delayed contacting the hospital and may have developed May-Thurner Syndrome or perhaps critical limb ischemia, which if left untreated can lead to amputation. With the ongoing censorship of information about the risks of taking these vaccines, his doctors have yet to offer a diagnosis of their own. Mr. Mears said: “The doctors say it’s hard to prove that it’s linked to the Covid jab and that the infection could have been there for some time, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence.” Following complications from the first operation, his entire leg was amputated. David Mears said that his goal was to have use of a prosthetic leg by the end of 2021, and I wish him well in his recovery. He has a GoFundMe page, set up to cover his medical expenses and rehabilitation.

Paul Bainbridge

On March 13th 2021, Paul Bainbridge, a 46-year-old software developer from the U.K., had his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. To celebrate the event he announced it on his Facebook page with a photograph of himself surrounded by a rainbow and a blue heart saying “thank you NHS”. Three days later he confirmed that he had been injected with the AstraZeneca viral-vector vaccine, along with the information that he had what he called “a dodgy immune system”. Over two months later, on May 29th, Mr. Bainbridge declared himself “fully vaccinated”, presumably meaning that he had received his second dose. A friend, Paul Oxley, whose profile photo bore the same rainbow and heart, asked: “Are you glowing yet?” In response, Paul wrote: “No. But I now have three arms and metal keeps sticking to me.” This mockery was typical of Mr. Bainbridge’s views. On September 19th 2020, he had posted a photograph of the anti-lockdown demonstration in Trafalgar Square – a demonstration in which I participated – with the comment: “Anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers at Trafalgar Square. Or as they are collectively known. A Karen of Ratlickers.” I’m not sure if this is accurate, but Wikipedia says that “Karen is a pejorative term for a white woman seeming to be entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is normal.” I guess a “ratlicker” is fairly self-explanatory.

On June 1st, a few days after his second injection, Mr. Bainbridge posted a summary of his rapidly deteriorating health. On May 30th he had felt “pins and needles” in his hands and feet. The next day he was “falling over” and was sent by his GP to a hospital, where he had two spinal taps and was “diagnosed same day”. On June 2nd he had “full body paralysis with the exception of right side of face”, and was put into an “induced coma” in an intensive care unit. He concluded, almost laconically, that while in hospital he also contracted MRSA (a bacteria that’s more resistant to several widely-used antibiotics), pneumonia and septicaemia (blood poisoning). This is a demonstration of just how many diseases are nosocomial, and of how many so-called ‘hospital admissions’ for COVID-19 are in reality positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 of people who went to hospital for very different illnesses or injuries. Mr. Bainbridge’s Facebook post, which has subsequently been removed, didn’t say what he was “diagnosed” with, but spinal taps are required to diagnose Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a neurological condition whose primary symptom is the “pins and needles” he reported feeling, and which occurs when a trigger, such as a virus or a vaccine, mistakenly makes the immune system attack the nerves, causing pain and loss of co-ordination.

Undeterred, on June 3rd Mr. Bainbridge posted another dig at “anti vaxxers”. This was the last post on his Facebook page; but alerted of the recording of his story on the Covid Blog, on June 13th he accused the blog of publishing “fake news”, claimed that the screengrabs of his Facebook page it had published were “out by over 10 years”, and threatened the author with “libel lawsuits”. Presumably, the success of such lawsuits will depend on Mr. Bainbridge establishing how he was posting about taking a COVID-19 vaccine before 2011. Closer to the truth, in July 2021, the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration acknowledged that there was an increased risk of Guillain-Barré Syndrome from certain COVID-19 vaccines, including the AstraZeneca brand. Despite Mr. Bainbridge’s mockery of and contempt for the concerns and fears of millions of Britons, and his reckless promotion of an experimental vaccine programme, I wish him a full recovery.

Alex Mitchell

On March 20th 2021, Alex Mitchell, a 56-year-old scaffolder from Glasgow, had his first injection of the viral vector AstraZeneca vaccine. Twelve days later he started to suffer from sore calves, but because his work involves heavy lifting he didn’t think much of it at the time. The pain, however, continued, and on April 4th Mr. Mitchell collapsed while ironing at home. When he started to hyperventilate, he knew something was wrong, and his wife called an ambulance. At the hospital a computerised tomography (CT) scan confirmed Mr. Mitchell had multiple blood clots in his lower abdomen and in both legs; but, fortunately, surgeons managed to remove them before they moved into his liver and kidneys, and he survived. Unfortunately, every vein in his left leg had collapsed, and they had to amputate it above the knee. Despite losing his leg and his livelihood, Mr. Mitchell insisted that others should take the same vaccine. He told the Sunday Post:

This is so rare it isn’t going to happen to many other people so it shouldn’t deter anyone having the vaccine. I had it because I want things to go back to normal as soon as they can. And the only way we can do this is by being vaccinated. I wouldn’t want to discourage people from having the Covid jab. From what they know, what happened to me is rare. It’s only going to affect maybe one or two people, so don’t let it put you off.

The article, published on May 2nd, reiterated that Mr. Mitchell losing his leg two weeks after being vaccinated was an “incredibly rare side-effect”, a “highly rare but devastating reaction to the Covid vaccine”, that it is “so rare there is no reliable data on it yet”, that the chance of dying from a blood clot after the AstraZeneca vaccine – which Mr. Michell didn’t – is “about one in a million”, that blood clots are “very common” and the “risk of them from the AstraZeneca vaccine is tiny”, and that “it’s important to remember that with any medications, there are risks”.

That month, a 40-second film of undeclared origin appeared on Twitter about Alex Mitchell promoting the U.K. vaccination programme. Over rising piano chords, strings and footage of his recovery, the film states in a series of texts:

An inspirational amputee has urged everyone to get the Covid vaccine despite the incredibly rare side effect that nearly claimed his life. Just three weeks ago, Alex Mitchell was fighting for his life in hospital. He was one of the very rare cases of blood clotting after the AstraZeneca vaccine. After a leg amputation he is now learning to walk again. He hopes to be back on his beloved Vespa this summer.

The final text is a quote attributed to Alex Mitchell: “What happened to me is rare, so don’t let it put you off. I wouldn’t like to think it would stop anyone having the vaccine.”

The footage was subsequently deleted from Twitter – perhaps because Mr. Mitchell has sought Government compensation for his injury, which he now attributes to the AstraZeneca viral vector vaccine. Presumably in anticipation of the devastation these experimental vaccines would inflict on the U.K. public, on December 3rd 2020 The Vaccine Damage Payments (Specified Disease) Order 2020 added COVID-19 to the list of diseases against which payments made to individuals severely disabled as a result of vaccination are limited to a one-off Vaccine Damage Payment of £120,000.

Tanya Smith

On March 21st 2021, Tanya Smith, a 43-year-old mother of three children and childminder with no pre-existing medical conditions, had her first injection with the viral vector AstraZeneca vaccine. As a key worker and carer for her disabled child, Ms. Smith was contacted by her GP surgery to book an appointment to be vaccinated. According to her partner, she felt “pretty rough” for a couple of days afterwards, and then woke one morning in pain. She called 111 for help, and was admitted with severe stomach cramps to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, where she suffered a heart attack and cardiac arrest. Ms. Smith was diagnosed with multiple blood clots, which had caused the heart attack, and she was operated on to remove them. After initially improving, doctors said her blood platelet levels “went through the floor”. On April 3rd, just 13 days after being vaccinated, Ms. Smith suffered a massive heart attack and died in hospital.

Having read about the recent death of BBC journalist Lisa Shaw after taking the same brand of vaccine, Ms. Smith’s partner, Kenneth Edwards, contacted the press about her death. In response, the MHRA commented: “Our detailed and rigorous review into reports of blood clots occurring together with thrombocytopenia [low blood platelet count] is ongoing.” The regulatory agency continues to insist that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks for most people. Ms. Smith’s death has been reported to the Coroner’s Office in Plymouth, but no inquest has been opened and the cause of death is not yet established. NHS England has declined to comment.

Lisa Shaw

On May 21st 2021, Lisa Shaw, the previously healthy 44-year-old presenter for BBC Radio Newcastle, died of a brain haemorrhage. On April 29th, she had been injected with her first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In August 2021, the Newcastle coroner, Karen Dilks, found the death to have been caused by “complications of an AstraZeneca Covid vaccine”, which she had “clearly established” caused “thrombotic thrombocytopenia” (blood clots) in Mrs. Shaw’s brain. Under Section 19 of the Coronavirus Act 2020, a doctor who has not seen the deceased is empowered to certify the cause of death (for example, as COVID-19) without the death being referred to the coroner before cremation of the deceased; so it is unclear why an autopsy was performed on Mrs. Shaw’s body. The most likely explanation is her relative fame, and the interest the U.K. press would take in the story should her family’s request for an autopsy be denied. It’s important to bear in mind that the death of Mrs. Shaw occurred more than three weeks after injection, and that her death, therefore, like that of Rachel McKinney, is unlikely to be recorded by the MHRA.

Simon Elmer is the author of The Road to Fascism: For a Critique of the Global Biosecurity State, which is available in hardback, paperback and e-book.