Payouts for 100% safe COVID-19 vaccines? Go figure and go get 3 more.
Posted: June 01, 2022
Last Updated: June 01, 2022
In the year since he became partially paralyzed, Ross Wightman has kept his focus on small victories — from getting up the stairs unassisted, to going for a solo walk near his rural B.C. home.
But the biggest win came in the form of an e-mail from Canada's Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP) that confirmed something he says he knew all along: that his condition was likely caused by the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
"That was quite vindicating," Wightman said from his Lake Country home in the Okanagan Valley. "To have it in hand, in paper, acknowledging it has been vindicating."
Wightman was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a rare condition that affects the nervous system, just days after his first and only dose of the vaccine. The condition can cause paralysis, muscle weakness, and even death.
"Every day is a grind," said Wightman, who still has substantially limited mobility in his arms and legs. "[The letter] doesn't change my condition, or the way I feel overly — it's just nice to have," he added.
GBS diagnoses following a COVID-19 vaccination are extremely rare — about one in 700,000 — according to data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and Health Canada.
There have been 10 reports of individuals hospitalized with GBS within 30 days of a COVID-19 vaccine since December 2020, all of whom have been discharged, according to the BCCDC. Four reports followed the AstraZeneca vaccine, five followed Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty, and one followed Moderna Spikevax.
More than 11.7 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in B.C., with health experts noting the risks associated with coronavirus infection far outweigh the risks of vaccination. There have been more than 41,000 deaths associated with COVID-19 in Canada.
The letter Wightman received makes him one of just a handful of Canadians to become approved for a COVID-19 vaccine injury benefit. He chose not to share his total allotment with CBC News citing privacy concerns, but said the maximum payout under the program is about $284,000. Wightman said he did not qualify for the full amount.
Ross Wightman 1 of 10 people hospitalized with Guillain-Barré Syndrome within 30 days of vaccine: BCCDC
Jon Hernandez - CBC NewsPosted: June 01, 2022
Last Updated: June 01, 2022
In the year since he became partially paralyzed, Ross Wightman has kept his focus on small victories — from getting up the stairs unassisted, to going for a solo walk near his rural B.C. home.
But the biggest win came in the form of an e-mail from Canada's Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP) that confirmed something he says he knew all along: that his condition was likely caused by the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
"That was quite vindicating," Wightman said from his Lake Country home in the Okanagan Valley. "To have it in hand, in paper, acknowledging it has been vindicating."
Wightman was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a rare condition that affects the nervous system, just days after his first and only dose of the vaccine. The condition can cause paralysis, muscle weakness, and even death.
"Every day is a grind," said Wightman, who still has substantially limited mobility in his arms and legs. "[The letter] doesn't change my condition, or the way I feel overly — it's just nice to have," he added.
GBS diagnoses following a COVID-19 vaccination are extremely rare — about one in 700,000 — according to data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and Health Canada.
There have been 10 reports of individuals hospitalized with GBS within 30 days of a COVID-19 vaccine since December 2020, all of whom have been discharged, according to the BCCDC. Four reports followed the AstraZeneca vaccine, five followed Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty, and one followed Moderna Spikevax.
More than 11.7 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in B.C., with health experts noting the risks associated with coronavirus infection far outweigh the risks of vaccination. There have been more than 41,000 deaths associated with COVID-19 in Canada.
The letter Wightman received makes him one of just a handful of Canadians to become approved for a COVID-19 vaccine injury benefit. He chose not to share his total allotment with CBC News citing privacy concerns, but said the maximum payout under the program is about $284,000. Wightman said he did not qualify for the full amount.
