An anti-vaxxer who considered himself a “hero” for refusing the Covid vaccine is urging others to avoid making the same mistake he did.
Andrew Pugh, speaking from his hospital bed, where he now only breathes through an oxygen mask, said he now “wishes he’d had the vaccine” after contracting Covid just before Christmas.
After being transported into intensive care, the 52-year-old’s family was told that he had a 50/50 chance of living. “I didn’t get the vaccine, I thought I was being the hero,” Mr. Pugh said from Worcestershire Royal Hospital, where he is currently being treated.
Mr. Pugh, who works as a binman, has been moved to an ICU ward, but he is still on oxygen as he recovers from his extended Covid stay. He’s been in the hospital since December 5th, and on Christmas Day, he was only allowed one visitor to spend an hour with him.
He said: “If it wasn’t for the nurses and the fact I’m a non-smoker I wouldn’t be alive – they saved my life. I want to say thank you to the staff in the ICU for giving me my second chance, it has been hard and it still is.”
He urged people to “please get your vaccinations” and warned: “You don’t want to end up like me.”
The father of three said: “When you’re dead and all your family is heartbroken you can’t turn around and say ‘I wish I had the vaccine’. This is very real and people need to get their jabs.”
As a thank, you, his niece, Sophie Pugh, has organized a collection for the ICU staff. She said: “We managed 16 bags, three boxes, bottles of water and juice plus a few vouchers.
“All of it has been donated to the intensive care unit currently caring for Andrew, they potentially saved his life.
“To say they were shocked was an understatement, thank you to every single person that helped make this happen.”
According to the most recent data from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre, 61% of Covid patients admitted to critical care in December were unvaccinated.
As per independent, the proportion of unvaccinated patients in intensive care varies by geography, with London, the southwest, and the North West having the highest rates (66%).