Michael Ejercito
2024-10-16 11:31:11 UTC
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PermalinkMan says he has been 'left to rot' after Covid vaccine
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Aileen Moynagh
BBC News NI health reporter
Larry Lowe Larry in a grey t-shirt laying down on a hospital bed next to
a heart monitor. He is looking directly at the camera Larry Lowe
Larry Lowe struggles with everyday tasks such as walking
On 15 December 2021 Larry Lowe’s life changed.
He was 54, rarely ill, fit, healthy and running 10km most days – until
he got the Pfizer Covid booster.
Within days he developed numbness in the right side of his face and
started experiencing pain.
"I had lost all the feeling in my face, teeth, nose, tongue, eye, that
whole side of my head," he said.
These symptoms have spread through his body and intensified over the
years, with doctors across the UK saying the vaccine is to blame.
Pfizer said patient safety was paramount and it took reports of adverse
reactions very seriously.
It said hundreds of millions of doses had been administered globally
"and the benefit-risk profile of the vaccine remains positive for all
authorised indications and age groups".
Mr Lowe, who is from Omagh in Northern Ireland, said that while he was
not opposed to vaccines, his life had been destroyed.
Larry Lowe Larry and his wife pictured by the seaside both are wearing
sunglasses and smiling into the camera with the sun shining behind
them.Larry Lowe
Larry pictured with his wife before he developed painful trigeminal
neuropathy
What does the Public Health Agency say?
Northern Ireland's Public Health Agency (PHA) said the benefits of the
vaccines in preventing Covid-19 and serious complications associated
with it far outweighed any currently known side effects in the majority
of patients.
Mr Lowe was referred to Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London where he
was told the vaccine "was being recognized by my body as a toxin, and
that was the cause of my problems".
He broke down and cried.
"My wife and I were sitting in this little room in Westminster with
consultants telling me the vaccine had destroyed the nerve on the right
side of my face, and it was highly unlikely that I would ever recover
from it," he said.
In letters, seen by BBC News NI, London pain management specialists
confirmed the onset of symptoms could be attributed to the Covid vaccine
booster.
In correspondence to Mr Lowe's GP last May, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Trust
confirmed that “our multidisciplinary team were in agreement that the
onset of symptoms could be attributed to the Covid vaccine booster”.
In April 2024, Mr Lowe was diagnosed by a consultant neurologist at the
Southern Health Trust with a “painful trigeminal neuropathy” which had
“the Covid vaccine as its main causative factor”.
NI government consults on mandatory vaccines
He also developed a small fibre sensory neuropathy which the consultant
said “is also one of the post-vaccine related neurological presentations”.
"I struggle when I think about what another 10 years is going to do to
me, because in the three years roughly that I've had this, it's
destroyed me and it's getting worse," Mr Lowe said.
What symptoms does Mr Lowe have?
Mr Lowe said the small fibre neuropathy affected his entire body, from
toes to fingertips.
He suffers from dry eye syndrome and wears sunglasses inside and out
because of his sensitivity to light.
"I feel as if there is a clamp on both sides of my head, squeezing it
all the time," he said.
"I've been told that my condition is progressive. It is going to get worse.
"I didn't ask for this," he said.
He said he took the vaccine in good faith and feels he has been "left to
rot".
'My life is barely worth living'
Larry Lowe Larry at the finish line of a half marathon. He is wearing a
green t shirt and is holding his medal up to the cameraLarry Lowe
Before his diagnosis Mr Lowe was an avid runner
"I'm in so much pain, my life is barely worth living, except for my
family," he said.
He said he did not feel like himself anymore.
"Before this I was in a rock band, lead guitar, singing, writing songs,
recording albums, loving it," he told BBC News NI.
"Now that's just a memory," he added.
The former college lecturer had to medically retire.
He said chronic pain was hard to explain because people think of a
"toothache or breaking their leg".
"Once you break your leg, it starts to get better.
"My pain is getting worse every day."
Mr Lowe praised all the medical professionals he had seen, who he said
"tried everything" to help him but all they could offer was medication.
He said his GP was "fantastic," but that he "doesn't have the magic wand
that I need".
Larry wearing large dark sunglasses in an indoors setting, he is looking
directly at the camera
Mr Lowe suffers from dry eye syndrome and wears sunglasses inside and
out because of his sensitivity to light
'They've destroyed me'
Mr Lowe said he would like the stigma taken out of Covid vaccine injuries.
He said many people do not take them seriously.
Mr Lowe said he had never been opposed to vaccinations which were tried
and tested.
He added that he was not allowed to take any further vaccines.
'Death rate fell'
Professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine, Martin McKee, said vaccines had been "absolutely
essential" to allowing society to move on from the pandemic.
"Once the vaccines became available then the death rate fell markedly,"
he said.
Prof McKee said all vaccines came with a risk of reactions and there
would be "a small number of reactions" when a large number of people
were vaccinated.
While he cannot comment on individual cases, he said reactions like Mr
Lowe's were "exceedingly rare".
Gini, a woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a white shirt
looking directly into the camera
Mr Lowe's wife Gini said her and their family's life has been turned
upside down
Mr Lowe said he had exhausted all the medication and treatments
available in the UK and they did not work and he wants "medical and
psychological help".
"I want someone to recognize that the vaccine has done this."
His wife Gini said life had been extremely tough.
She said they had a "fantastic, normal life" to a world that had been
turned upside down.
She said Larry cries and screams at night with the pain.
"We have lost part of Larry and that's hard to take," she added.
Larry Lowe Larry wearing a grey hat and a grey facemask in a school
sports hall which is dotted with people getting their covid jabsLarry Lowe
Mr Lowe took this selfie on the day of his Covid-19 booster in December 2021
Dr Louise Herron, deputy director of public health at the PHA said all
vaccinations and medications could have some side effects.
"The most common side effects of the Covid-19 vaccine are mild and get
better within a week," she said.
"As with all vaccines and medicines, the safety of Covid-19 vaccines is
being continually monitored."
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is responsible
for regulating medicines, including vaccines, and conducts robust safety
monitoring and surveillance of all Covid-19 vaccines in the UK.
It said vaccination was the single most effective way to reduce deaths
and severe illness from Covid-19.