A teenager has been targeted by anti-vaxxers after after she was admitted to hospital with a very serious covid-related blood clot.
Maisy Evans, 17, who has called on young people to get the covid vaccine, said she was trolled on social media whilst in hospital after doctors discovered a blood-clot in her lung caused by coronavirus.
According to Maisy, she believes young people should take the virus seriously and take up the offer of a vaccine.
The teenager had only received one single coronavirus jag when she was admitted to hospital and is now being subjected to vindictive trolls who blast her ordeal with conspiracy theories.
Maisy Evans told Sky News: “I’ve had to deal with a lot of anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists which is deeply frustrating.
“I’ve been called a liar, an actress paid by the government to push certain agendas, Satan, a Nazi, evil, and so many more things.
“It’s totally uncalled for.”
Maisy tested positive for coronavirus on 14 August, three days after having her first Pfizer jab, something she had been ‘waiting for since the roll-out began,’ according to a report in WalesOnline.
After Maisy, from Newport, was admitted to the Grange Hospital in Cwmbran on August 25, doctors confirmed that her illness and her blood clot are unrelated to the vaccine.
After initially believing she was suffering side-effects of the vaccine, Maisy developed a cough and took a coronavirus test which returned a positive result.
“For my 10 days in isolation, I was really poorly. I was constantly tired and in pain. My GP said it was something to wait out, so that’s what I did.
"I waited it out until one night, I couldn’t sleep due to the pain in the back of my head and neck. Early in the morning on Wednesday the 25th, my mum called NHS direct for advice.
“A first responder arrived within half an hour, performed some routine checks and was unhappy with her findings.
"My temperature was high, heart rate high, blood pressure high and I was clearly in a lot of pain, unable to lift my head.
"Whilst I had no visible rash, the first responders feared the worst - meningitis.
"They began the treatment for meningitis because after all, we’d be better safe, than sorry.”
After undergoing blood tests, X-rays and CT scans, a small blood clot was discovered on her right lung.
“I am lucky. My clot is not too large; it will clear,” she said.
Maisy said she has suffered from symptoms including a cough, high temperature, shaking, sickness, dizziness, shortness of breath, headaches, body aches, and a loss of her sense of smell and taste.
She said that she is unable to stand up without feeling out of breath and that small tasks “feel like the most difficult things in the world.”
Maisy spent several days on constant oxygen support because her body was unable to regulate its own oxygen saturation levels.
The former member of the Welsh Youth Parliament, is urging people to take the virus seriously and accept the offer of a vaccine.
“Young people must not underestimate the impact Covid-19 could have on them. I have no underlying health conditions and generally, I am fit and well. Yet here I am, laying in a hospital bed with a blood clot in my lung.
“Young people are among those who are (so far) unvaccinated, so it’s important for those who are offered the vaccine in the next few weeks to take it.
“My double-vaccinated mum caught COVID-19 from me before I was admitted to hospital and thankfully, felt mild symptoms only. I know we all thank the vaccine for that.”
Maisy has received a message of support on social media from Newport East MP Jessica Morden, and says her experience was “a tale that needs to be shared.”
She added: “I’d love to know how different my story would be if I’d been offered the vaccine just a week or two earlier.”
