Covid: Teen in hospital with virus urges others to get vaccinated

A teenager in hospital with Covid has warned: "This virus is not a joke for young people."

Maisy Evans, 17, from south Wales, is struggling to speak and breathe as she recovers from the virus.

She urged others not to listen to anti-vaxxers, as a top doctor warned young people were being targeted by misinformation on social media.

"This virus is not a joke for young people," Maisy wrote on social media. "Those eligible must get vaccinated."

After sharing her story on Twitter, Maisy has had hundreds of comments, with some suggesting her illness was triggered by the vaccine.

However, the student from Newport, said doctors had confirmed a clot on her lung was not related to the one dose of the Pfizer vaccine she has received.

"Reading comments from those who are against the vaccines frustrates me deeply," she said.

"I shared my story to encourage my peers to protect themselves."

Maisy, who is due to return to sixth form at Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw in Pontypool next Monday,, said CT scans had confirmed her illness was triggered by her infection.

She has suffered headaches, breathlessness, sickness, achy muscles, dizziness and a loss of taste and smell.

Covid had been an "awful experience", she said, but added she was recovering slowly at the Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran.

She said she had been given antibiotics, steroids, morphine and blood thinners and expected to stay in hospital for a few more days.

"I haven't got any underlying health conditions, so the severe symptoms are unexplained," she said.

"I've simply had a bad experience of Covid-19."

BBC Wales spoke to Maisy via text message as she is so short of breath she can barely talk.

Her doctor has warned it could take a while for the breathlessness to go.

Dr Bnar Talabani, a scientist and doctor specialising in kidney and transplant medicine, has been talking to young people on social media trying to dispel myths about vaccines.

The Cardiff-based doctor, who has been trying to encourage young people to get jabbed over TikTok, said there was a lot of misinformation aimed at young people, and stories, like Maisy's showed how important it was to get the vaccine.

"The key is to focus on the science and the evidence, ignore opinion, nobody's opinion matters," she said.

"If you have the science and the evidence in front of you, and you base your decision purely on that, then no one would hesitate to get the vaccine."

She urged young people to "reach out" to experts on social media .

"I've had lots of conversations with young people who have now had the vaccine, because all they had prior to that was misinformation...once they have access to that accurate information I think it is very reassuring," she added.

Maisy said she had her first Pfizer jab on 11 August and, at first, she thought her mild headache and achy arm were symptoms of the vaccine.

By 13 August, she was feeling unwell and tested positive within 12 hours of being tested.

She was admitted to hospital on 25 August and doctors initially thought she also had meningitis or sepsis.

But after blood tests, X-Rays and scans, it was confirmed she had a Covid-related clot on her right lung.

"I've been in hospital since then," Maisy said. "I'm unsure of when I'll be discharged. I guess that depends on my progress."

Maisy's mother, who has had both jabs, tested positive for Covid too but has only suffered mild symptoms.

Speaking about the comments she had received about her blood clot being vaccine-related, Maisy said: "People with no medical qualifications are trying to tell me that the vaccine has caused the blood clot.

"It's upsetting to see that people just aren't willing to accept that Covid itself can cause these complications.

"They just want to scare people away from the vaccine."

Offering jabs to 16 and 17-year-olds dominated the Covid-19 vaccine programme in Wales last week.

According to Public Health Wales, 47,538 have received a first dose and 8,347 have had a second jab as well.

That means uptake of the first jab stands at 58.4% and 10.3% for the second jab.

Walk-in clinics are open throughout Wales so people can receive a dose at their convenience.

She said she hoped her story would remind people of the threat Covid-19 still poses.

"My message to others is simple: be careful," Maisy said.

"Do not underestimate how much of an impact the virus may have on you.

"I've been awfully unlucky with how it's affected me, and I hate the thought of it affecting others in this way."

She said the care she had received had been "incredible".

"The staff at the Grange have gone above and beyond at every opportunity and for that, I'll be forever grateful.

"I'll almost miss the nurses on the ward. I thank them for saving my life."