Family of man who took own life after COVID jab complications call for action on government compensation
The family of an NHS pharmacist who took his own life after suffering paralysing complications from a COVID jab are calling for urgent reform of the government’s compensation scheme for vaccine damage.
John Cross was told by the official medical assessor for the scheme that the jab had caused his rare neurological effects, but that he wasn’t disabled enough for a payment.
Mr Cross was unable to move, blink or breathe after his first dose of the vaccine.
He spent seven months recovering in hospital but was left with chronic pain and numbness – and suffered several relapses.
After he was rejected by the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), his mental health deteriorated and he took his own life.
John Cross’s children. Pic: Family
Speaking exclusively to Sky News, Philip Cross, John’s youngest son, said the family would seek to overturn the judgment and force reform of the VDPS.
“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.”
John was a staunch supporter of vaccination, eager to get his COVID jab to protect elderly relatives and help end the pandemic.
But two weeks later, he suffered rapidly progressive paralysis that swept up his body.
He was admitted to intensive care where he was given a tracheostomy, a breathing tube in his neck. And nursing staff had to tape his eyes closed so he could sleep.
John Cross and wife, Christine. Pic: Family
He slowly learned to eat, walk and talk again. But he never regained the mobility and fitness he had enjoyed before his illness.
Doctors eventually diagnosed Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy, nerve swelling that leads to a loss of strength or sensation.
Adam, John’s eldest son, said his father dreaded intensive dialysis-like treatment to remove rogue antibodies from his blood because it left him severely fatigued for days.
“I think he knew that without the treatment, this long-term condition would yo-yo, possibly for the rest of his life,” he said.
“And he’d have to deal with that. It’s devastating.”
John was urged by his doctors to submit a claim to the VDPS.
The scheme was set up in 1979 to make a one-off payment of £120,000 to people who have suffered rare, but significant, side effects to a range of vaccines.
But after a two-year delay, with only a review of his medical records and no face-to-face assessment, his claim was rejected.
His widow, Christine, said: “Nobody spoke to him. There was no personal contact, nothing. Just fill in this form and that was it.
John Cross’s wife and children. Pic: Family
“I’m very angry. John went through enough with the illness and the recovery without going through the trauma of this bureaucracy.”
John began gathering medical evidence to have the judgment overturned.
But he became increasingly anxious and overwhelmed.
In October 2023, faced with more gruelling treatment for another flare-up, he took his own life.
Liz Whitehead, his daughter, 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?”
Vaccination has long been seen as a social contract, with individuals taking the jab for the good of everyone.
But all vaccines have rare side effects, and the VDPS was designed to be a safety net for severe cases.
Under the VDPS, a medical examiner assesses patient records and testimony from doctors involved in the claimant’s care.
To qualify for payment, they must be deemed to be 60% disabled, a threshold with origins in compensation schemes for industrial injuries. Amputation below the knee would be sufficient for a payout.
Peter Todd, the Cross family’s solicitor
But the Cross family’s solicitor, Peter Todd, of Scott-Moncrieff & Associates, said medical assessors struggle to make “apples and pears” comparisons with complex vaccine damage.
“The threshold is often misunderstood as being very high, akin to being totally paralysed,” he said.
“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 applications to the VDPS.
Before the pandemic there were a few dozen a year.
But since the COVID vaccine rollout, 14,000 people have made claims, according to Freedom of Information requests submitted by Mr Todd to the NHS Business Services Authority.
Just over 6,000 have so far been notified of an outcome, with 180 people told they would be given a payment.
Another 350 people have been told that on the balance of probabilities the vaccine caused their complications, but that they didn’t meet the 60% disability threshold.
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Mr Todd said people can struggle to explain the full impact of their vaccine damage on a complex form.
“There’s a real mismatch between what the claimant has understood about their condition and what the assessor is prepared to accept based purely on medical records that weren’t created for the purposes of this assessment,” he said.
“They rejected (John’s claim) in the most high-handed and unfair manner, which just broke him psychologically.”
The NHS Business Services Authority told Sky News that it did not comment on individual cases, but that it was in touch with the Cross family about their concerns over John’s assessment.
The Department of Health, which is responsible for the scheme, said the ongoing COVID Inquiry would investigate reform of the VDPS as part of its vaccination module starting in January next year.
In a statement, it said: “Assessments of VDPS claims are undertaken by qualified independent medical assessors, who use the medical records and information provided by the claimants’ healthcare providers to make their assessment.”
The Cross family are upset by the slow progress of the case.
“He was our dad, he was a really wonderful man,” said Liz.
“It’s a tragedy and the government needs to hear it. Don’t send me your condolences, don’t tell me how bad you feel for me or us.
“Do something.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
As a ban on the sale of disposable vapes comes into force on Sunday, a doctor who set up the first-ever clinic to help children stop vaping has said she has seen patients so addicted they couldn’t sleep through the night without them.
Professor Rachel Isba established the clinic at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool in January and has now seen several patients as young as 11 years old who are nicotine dependent.
“Some of the young people vape before they get out of bed. They are sleeping with them under their pillow,” she told Sky News.
Professor Rachel Isba set up the first-ever stop vaping clinic for children
“I’m hearing stories of some children waking up at three o’clock in the morning, thinking they can’t sleep, thinking the vape will help them get back to sleep. Whereas, actually, that’s the complete opposite of how nicotine works.”
Ms Isba said most of her patients use disposable vapes, and while some young people may use the chance to give up, others will simply move to refillable devices after the ban.
“To me, vaping feels quite a lot like the beginning of smoking. I’m not surprised, but disappointed on behalf of the children that history has repeated itself.”
A government ban on single-use vapes comes into effect from Sunday, prohibiting the sale of disposable vaping products across the UK, both online and in-store, whether or not they contain nicotine.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said usage among young vapers remained too high, and the ban would “put an end to their alarming rise in school playgrounds and the avalanche of rubbish flooding the nation’s streets”.
Pic: PA
Circular economy minister Mary Creagh said: “For too long, single-use vapes have blighted our streets as litter and hooked our children on nicotine. That ends today. The government calls time on these nasty devices.”
At nearby Shrewsbury House Youth Club in Everton, a group of 11 and 12-year-old girls said vape addiction is already rife among their friends.
Yasmin Dumbell said: “Every day we go out, and at least someone has a vape. I know people who started in year five. It’s constantly in their hand.”
Yasmin Dumbell says she knows students who started vaping in year five
Her friend Una Quayle said metal detectors were installed at her school to try to stop pupils bringing in vapes, and they are having special assemblies about the dangers of the devices.
But, she said, students “find ways to get around the scanners though – they hide them in their shorts and go to the bathroom and do it”.
Una Quayle says metal detectors installed at her school won’t stop students using vapes
The girls said the ban on disposables is unlikely to make a difference for their friends who are already addicted.
According to Una, they’ll “find a way to get nicotine into their system”.
As well as trying to address the rise in young people vaping, the government hopes banning single-use vapes will reduce some of the environmental impact the devices have.
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Although all vapes can be recycled, only a tiny proportion are – with around eight million a week ending up in the bin or on the floor.
Pulled apart by hand
Even those that are recycled have to be pulled apart by hand, as there is currently no way to automate the process.
Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, a recycling non-profit group, said vapes were “some of the most environmentally wasteful, damaging, dangerous consumer products ever sold”.
His organisation worries that with new, legal models being designed to almost exactly mimic disposables in look and feel – and being sold for a similar price – people will just keep throwing them away.
He said the behaviour “is too ingrained. The general public have been told ‘vapes are disposable’. They’ve even been marketed this way. But they never were disposable”.
A ban on disposable vapes comes into force on Sunday, with a warning issued about the “life-threatening dangers” of stockpiling.
From Sunday it will be illegal for any business to sell or supply, or have in their possession for sale, all single-use or disposable vapes.
Online nicotine retailer Haypp said 82% of the 369 customers they surveyed plan to bulk purchase the vapes before they are no longer available.
But the vapes contain lithium batteries and could catch fire if not stored correctly.
A sign for customers at a Tesco store in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. Pic: PA
While more than a third (34%) of people surveyed by Haypp said they would consider buying an illegal vape after the ban, the overall number of people using disposable products has fallen from 30% to to 24% of vapers, according to Action on Smoking and Health.
Shops selling vapes are required to offer a “take back” service, where they accept vapes and vape parts that customers return for recycling – including single use products.
Read more: Everything you need to know about the ban
The Local Government Association (LGA) led the call for a ban two years ago, due to environmental and wellbeing concerns, and is warning people not to stockpile.
Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Failing to store disposable vapes correctly could cost lives, given the significant fire risk they pose.”
How disposable vapes catch fire – or even explode
Figures obtained by the Electric Tobacconist, via Freedom of Information requests, found an increase in vape related fires – from 89 in 2020 to 399 in 2024.
Many disposable vapes use cheap, or even unregulated lithium-ion batteries, to keep the costs down. These batteries often lack proper safety features, like thermal cut offs, making them more prone to overheating and catching fire.
If the battery is damaged, or overheats in any way it can cause thermal runaway – a chain reaction where the battery’s temperature rapidly increases, causing it to overheat uncontrollably.
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2019: Vape product starts fire on US passenger plane
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Then, once these fires start start, they are very hard to stop. Water alone can make things worse if the battery is still generating heat, so they require specialised fire suppressants to put them out.
Batteries can then re-ignite hours, or even days later, making them a persistent hazard.
Disposable vapes are a hazard for waste and litter collection and cause fires in bin lorries, even though customers have been warned not to throw them away in household waste. They are almost impossible to recycle because they are designed as one unit so the batteries cannot be separated from plastic.
Some 8.2 million units were thrown away, or recycled incorrectly, every week prior to the ban.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said usage among young vapers remained too high, and the ban would “put an end to their alarming rise in school playgrounds and the avalanche of rubbish flooding the nation’s streets”.
Circular economy minister Mary Creagh said: “For too long, single-use vapes have blighted our streets as litter and hooked our children on nicotine. That ends today.
“The government calls time on these nasty devices.”
‘One in five say they will return to cigarettes’
Separate research by life insurance experts at Confused.com found two in five people (37%) planned to stop vaping when the ban starts.
Nearly one in five (19%) said they would return to cigarettes once the ban comes into force.
The research was based on the answers of 500 UK adults who currently vape.
Vaping and smoking also appears to be on the rise, with Confused.com saying there was a 44% increase in the number of people declaring they smoke or vape on their life insurance policy since 2019.
Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges as he appeared in court in London.
The British comedian and actor, from Hambleden in Buckinghamshire, was charged by post last month with one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape as well as two counts of sexual assault.
The charges relate to alleged incidents involving four separate women between 1999 and 2005.
The 49-year-old, who has been living in the US, was flanked by two officers as he pleaded not guilty to all the charges at Southwark Crown Court today.
Russell Brand appears at Southwark Crown Court. Pic: Reuters
Brand stood completely still and looked straight ahead as he delivered his pleas.
The comedian, who has consistently denied having non-consensual sex since allegations were first aired two years ago, is due to stand trial in June 2026.
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Russell Brand arrives at Southwark Crown Court on Friday
He previously told his 11.2 million followers on X that he welcomed the opportunity to prove his innocence.
The allegations were first made in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches in September 2023.
As Friday’s hearing finished, Brand replaced his sunglasses before exiting the dock and calmly walking past reporters.
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