Dad who suffered brain injury days after getting COVID vaccine sues AstraZeneca
A dad who suffered a brain injury just days after receiving a British-developed COVID vaccine has told Sky News he would never have had the jab if he had known of the risk of rare but serious side effects.
Jamie Scott, who has two young boys and is now unable to work, is suing AstraZeneca for what he says is damage caused by the jab in April 2021.
He alleges the pharmaceutical giant exaggerated the vaccine’s effectiveness and downplayed its risks.
AstraZeneca denies the claims made against them.
In his first TV interview, Mr Scott told Sky News: “I took it to protect the elderly people around me.
“AstraZeneca and the government need to explain the risk whenever you take medicine. If there’s a risk – I’ve got a young family – I would never have taken it.”
Ten days after having his first dose of the vaccine, Mr Scott woke up with a severe headache, started vomiting and had trouble speaking.
He was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a clot that was stopping blood draining from his brain, as well as a haemorrhage in the brain itself.
He had surgery and was in a coma for just over a month. His wife Kate was told that if he survived he would never be the same again.
Kate Scott
Mr Scott now has a poor memory, has trouble reading, writing, listening and speaking, is partially blind in both eyes and suffers from pain and fatigue.
He says he can’t drive or play an active part in his boys’ lives.
“Everything about me has changed. Everything is difficult,” he said.
“I am happy to be alive. But I’m a shadow of what I was and every day is difficult.”
There are 51 cases lodged with the High Court with people claiming damage as a result of vaccination. Some are bereaved relatives.
Vials of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. File pic: PA
Mr Scott was given a payout of £120,000 from the government’s Vaccine Damage Payment (VDP) scheme.
But that comes nowhere near to replacing the career income he would have received as an IT professional.
“If Jamie was in a car crash there would have been insurance to cover the injuries and loss of income,” said Mrs Scott.
“We should not have to lose our house, or not be able to afford to fix our cooker when it breaks down or not be able to take the kids on holiday.
“If VDP was reformed, we would not have to litigate.”
To be given the full £120,000 payout from the vaccine damage scheme claimants have to be assessed as at least 60% disabled. Those with a lower degree of disability – which can still be life-changing – don’t qualify.
The AstraZeneca vaccine was developed by scientists at the University of Oxford. It went through accelerated testing and licensing because of the urgency of the pandemic and was authorised for emergency supply in December 2020.
Jamie Scott
The government and many doctors assured the public that the vaccine was safe and urged people to take the jab.
But in the spring of 2021, there were reports around Europe of people suffering unusual blood clotting several days after vaccination.
Sarah Moore, a lawyer at Leigh Day Solicitors who is representing Mr Scott and the other claimants, told Sky News: “As early as the beginning of March in 2021, other European countries had withdrawn or suspended this product from the market because they had seen this problem.
“Our argument is that on the date upon which Jamie’s vaccine was applied, there was no warning.
“Now, if you are going to take a healthy person and give them any medical product, then generally most people would accept that has to be a warning within the product literature that specifies that risk, particularly when we’re talking about the gravity of risk in this context.”
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AstraZeneca says it updated product information for the vaccine in April 2021 to reflect the possibility in very rare cases that it could be a trigger for thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome.
In a statement, it said: “Our sympathy goes out to anyone who has lost loved ones or reported health problems. Patient safety is our highest priority and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines.
“From the body of evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects.”
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The Department of Health and Social Care said it doesn’t comment on ongoing litigation or specific cases.
It added that the AstraZeneca jab hasn’t been used in the UK since the start of the booster programme in the autumn of 2021 because alternative mRNA vaccines were shown to be more effective.
However, the vaccine has been widely used around the world. In the first year of use, more than two billion doses were given, saving an estimated six million lives.
At the time of the rollout – and since – there has been a vocal minority of people who campaigned against COVID vaccines.
But Mr and Mrs Scott say they are not anti-vaxxers.
Mrs Scott said: “I would say we are vaccine-hesitant now because if it goes wrong you are left out in the cold.
“There has to be protection for those people who did the right thing when the government said it was safe and effective, time and time again.
“Even now if you try and question that narrative you’re shut down and told that’s anti-vax – and it just can’t be.”
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
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What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
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By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
There are more EVs – but will people buy them?
In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
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