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Groom-to-be’s death days after Covid vaccine investigated by health officials

A New Zealand woman is demanding answers after her fiancé died suddenly in their home following his first Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.

Rory James Nairn, 26, collapsed at the Dunedin home he shared with his long-time partner, Ashleigh Wilson, on November 17 — 12 days after getting the jab.

The couple were due to be married in March and had been in the process of buying a house.

Mr Nairn’s death is now being investigated by health officials and the coroner to determine if it is related to the vaccine, the New Zealand Herald reports.

Frustrated with the lack of clear answers, Ms Wilson told the publication she has decided to share Mr Nairn’s story.

She insists that if her partner had been made more aware of the potential side effects of the shot, he may have sought medical help earlier.

Rory James Nairn, 26, and his long-time partner, Ashleigh Wilson.
Rory James Nairn, 26, collapsed at the Dunedin home he shared with his long-time partner, Ashleigh Wilson, on November 17. Source: Facebook

'Heart flutters' chalked up to stress

In a lengthy Facebook post, Ms Wilson said on Tuesday that her fiancé began feeling “heart flutters” just hours after getting the vaccine.

“We put this down to stress as we were in the process of selling and buying a house and planning a wedding,” she wrote.

“We never, ever considered the events that followed.”

She said Mr Nairn then began suffering from heart palpitations at night, but again the couple chalked it up to stress.

On the night that he died, the 26-year-old “was up and down again during the night with his heart palpitations and an ‘uncomfortable’ feeling in his chest,” Ms Wilson said.

Rory James Nairn, 26, and his long-time partner, Ashleigh Wilson.
The couple were due to be married in March and had been in the process of buying a house. Source: Facebook

“We finally decided to head to hospital at 3am for reassurance. Within moments, Rory went into cardiac arrest and died instantly in our home,” she said.

The grieving bride-to-be told the NZ Herald the pair were about to leave for the hospital when Mr Nairn went to the toilet and she suddenly heard a “thud”.

“He had fallen, his body was blocking the door, his full weight was against it and I couldn't get it open,” she told the publication, adding that the incident was “really traumatic”.

“I could just see him through a crack in the door, I could see that he was gone.”

Despite paramedics trying to resuscitate him for 40 minutes, Mr Nairn was pronounced dead at their home.

Grieving bride-to-be calls for more vaccine awareness

Ms Wilson said she believes the 26-year-old was “a victim of adverse cardiac reaction caused by the vaccine”.

She said she believes there should be more awareness about the possible side effects of the Covid jab so people know when they should seek medical help.

Ms Wilson said a pamphlet given to patients about the potential reactions downplays the heart-related symptoms and insists the messaging needs to be clearer.

Ms Wilson and her fiance before his sudden death.
Ms Wilson said she believes the 26-year-old was “a victim of adverse cardiac reaction caused by the vaccine”. Source: Facebook

“It's all a bit blasé. Yes, you get that little pamphlet, but you just don't hear about any adverse cases,” she told the NZ Herald.

She said she's speaking out in the hope no one else suffers like Mr Nairn, not to try and scare people from getting the vaccine.

Health risks of vaccine exceedingly low

The Australia Department of Health website reminds people that the "benefits of the vaccination outweigh the risk of Covid-19" and the very low risk of adverse cardiac symptoms such as myocarditis or pericarditis.

In a US study there were 20 documented cases of myocarditis among over 2,000,000 people who were vaccinated.

A pair of studies conducted in Israel, and published in the prestigious journal Nature in October, found the risk of experiencing heart inflammation, or myocarditis, following the Pfizer jab was about one in 50,000.

Ms Wilson, who is fully vaccinated, said Mr Nairn, a plumber, played rugby and often went diving and hunting.

“[He] had his whole life ahead of him,” she wrote on Facebook.

“We had our whole lives ahead of us!”

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