Covid vaccination programme may have saved my life

In the summer of 2021 I was 73 years old, with good health except for very occasional mild asthma. One morning I woke up feeling very unwell and because I work in a non-medical capacity at the PEH I tested and proved positive.

I immediately isolated from my 84-year-old husband, prepared to tough it out. After two days I realised I had never felt so ill in all my life and increasingly was having difficulty breathing. I asked for a telephone consultation with my GP. His counsel was that I should present at Emergency to see if I required hospitalisation. I was concerned that if I did this I would be leaving my elderly husband who has underlying health issues at home with no support and that he might have contracted the virus before I went into isolation. We arrived at a compromise. Should my symptoms worsen or within a day or two show no sign of improvement, I promised to get myself to Emergency. Thankfully, although my condition was slow in improving, my breathing issues began to resolve.

I had received all the Covid vaccinations I was entitled to, my husband had received more because he was older and he had underlying health issues. Interestingly he did get Covid, but had I not encouraged him to test he would not have been aware of the fact. Some time later when I was speaking to a doctor, who I also regard as a friend and whose judgment I value highly, his response was: ‘It was a good thing you had the vaccinations you could receive, as you may have been even more sick, and it’s possible that you might have died’.

I am so thankful for the Covid vaccination programme provided by Health & Social Care and for all the careful research that went into the vaccine’s discovery. It may have saved my life.

LINDA LE VASSEUR