The family of a shielding grandfather, 91, say he is battling Covid in hospital after catching the virus while getting his vaccination.
Peter Short, a retired ITV engineer, had not left his home in Bloxwich, Walsall, since February 2020 before he received the Pfizer vaccine at Bloxwich Active Living Centre on January 13.
Picture: Emma Loundes / SWNS, Peter Short
His son, who has also been shielding, drove him to the centre and told his family that everything Mr Short touched had been sanitized before he used it – with the exception of a pen he used to fill out a form. Mr Short then became ill just days later, and was rushed to Walsall Manor Hospital on January 16, where he tested positive for Covid.
His granddaughter Emma Loundes, 36, said the family now believe he must have caught the virus while receiving his vaccine. She said he was ‘perfectly healthy’ before he went to get the jab. Her father had seen the chairs being sanitized at the vaccine centre, but not the tables or stationary being used.
She went on: ‘Grandad had the vaccination on Wednesday and by the Saturday he was in the hospital fighting for his life. It’s all a bit scary and you read horror stories.
As his granddaughter, I’m very close to him and I’m thinking is it possible he caught the disease from the vaccination centre? They’re not temperature checking when you go in and you have to fill out forms. He could have well got it from picking up the pen but it’s impossible to be sure.
The only time he goes out to get the vaccine he ends up with Covid and in hospital and being really poorly.’
Mr Short is currently receiving around 10 litres of oxygen at the hospital and his family fear he may not survive. Ms Loundes says her mum has been talked through a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order.
She added: ‘We are a very close family so it’s all very hard at the moment.’
Picture: Emma Loundes / SWNS, Peter Short and his family
