‘I’d have a low chance of survival if I caught it’
A FATHER of two awaiting a heart transplant has said he can’t understand why he is so far down the vaccine priority list given the threat of Covid-19 to his life.
Daniel O’Brien, 48, from Drogheda has spent the last year cocooning due to a severe heart condition, dilated cardiomyopathy and ventricular tachycardia, which affects the heart’s rhythm and can cause cardiac arrest.
Last November he was told he would need a heart transplant. Catching Covid could mean severe illness and even death for him, but his condition has yet to play a significant part in determining when he will be vaccinated.
Speaking to the MoS, Daniel said: ‘I would have a low chance of survival if I caught it.’
As Daniel is 48 with an underlying health condition, he is placed seventh in the priority list for the vaccine and may not be fully vaccinated until August. ‘I’ll just be stuck,’ he said. ‘I don’t understand how I haven’t been vaccinated yet considering I’m such high-risk. I’m in limbo. The other problem is my family is terrified to bring it into the house.
‘Most of the deaths are
connected with cardiac illness.’
The Irish Heart Foundation wrote to the High Level Vaccine Taskforce on February 18 saying the priority list must take cardiac conditions more seriously.
‘Many of our patients live with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions,’ it said. ‘All heart patients face a higher risk of Covid-19 complications and should receive the vaccine quickly as a matter of priority.’
Clarity has also been sought for where family carers will be placed on the priority list.
Concerned mother Liz Collins is the primary caregiver for her teenage daughter Claudia, 17, who suffers from a debilitating skin condition, recessive dystrophic EB, and requires daily care to enable her to live as manageable a life as possible.
Last year, Liz and her husband Gary contracted Covid-19 during the first lockdown, leaving Liz hospitalised with pneumonia.
‘It was my worst nightmare – I needed someone to care for my child,’ said Liz.
‘While professional carers are receiving the vaccine, informal family carers are not scheduled to get it any sooner than the general population, despite their vital role as primary caregivers to people who have very vulnerable immune systems.’
It was announced yesterday that people with underlying health conditions are set to be moved up the vaccination priority list under a plan being worked on by Government.
The Health Minister has now received updated advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee and RTÉ reported that thousands of people in the 18-64 age group with underlying health conditions could be next after the over-70s are vaccinated.