A Mississippi man has been left paralyzed on one side and is unable to walk and talk following blood clot after he received the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine. Brad Malagarie, 43, of St. Martin, suffered a stroke soon after stepping out last week to get the one-dose Johnson & Johnson jab, news station WLOX reported.
State health officials are skeptical of the link, although they're investigating. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is already on hold after reports of blood clot and deaths made the FDC and CDC raise concerns over its safety and effectiveness. Malagarie, meanwhile, had to be rushed to hospital where doctors detected a blood clot in his brain.
Life-Threatening Experience
Hours after taking the Johnson & Johnson vaccine Malagarie lost sensation in one side of his body. Malagarie spent the morning at his D'Iberville office before heading to get a Johnson and Johnson vaccine a little after noon. He returned to work, and within three hours, co-workers noticed he was unresponsive at his desk.
Presently, he can't walk or talk. The father of seven had to be rushed to the hospital, where doctors determined that he had a stroke as a result of a blood clot in his brain, the outlet reported.
"He's a young, healthy 43-year-old, you know, and I immediately thought it. I said, 'be sure to tell the doctors, tell the doctors he took that Johnson and Johnson vaccine'," his aunt Celeste Foster O'Keefe told CNN.
Later doctors too suspected that the stroke and clot was a result of the vaccine. "They called me and said he had that vaccine and something is wrong, we think it's a stroke," O'Keefe said adding that Malagarie is otherwise quite healthy although he took medication for high blood pressure.
Doctors Worried
Malagarie has now been left paralyzed on the right side of the body and the family is blaming the vaccine for the unfortunate incident. And even doctors don't know how long he will take to recover or if he will recover at all. In fact, they are worried about the situation and can't guarantee about Malagarie getting back to leading normal life.
"He can't talk now and he can't walk. He's paralyzed on the right side. He knows who we are and he will just cry when he sees us. We want him to be able to communicate, to be able to walk and talk again, even if it's not perfect," O'Keefe said.
Federal regulators halted the use of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot on Tuesday after six women between the ages of 18 and 48 developed blood clots, including one who died. The death of the woman is being investigated.
"If you can help one person, you've stopped a world of pain for that whole family. Cause maybe it's only been a handful of people affected, but when it's your family, it doesn't feel like a handful," said O'Keefe.
That said, it is still unclear whether the vaccine is linked to the rare blood-clotting cases, which occurred out of more than 7.2 million people who have received the vaccine. Although nothing has been proved yet, the vaccine remains suspended, with many now unsure about its safety.
