Home Australia Conor was happy and healthy until he lined up for his Covid vaccines. Now he can’t work, spends most of his time at home… and will never forget a doctor’s five-word response to his ordeal

Conor was happy and healthy until he lined up for his Covid vaccines. Now he can’t work, spends most of his time at home… and will never forget a doctor’s five-word response to his ordeal

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Conor Briggs, 26, said heart injuries caused by two Covid vaccines led him to try to take his own life.

A young man claims the debilitating heart problems he suffered after receiving Covid vaccines drove him so desperate that he almost took his life.

Despite seeing numerous cardiologists and being admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of pericarditis after his second Pfizer vaccine, Conor Briggs, 26, said he was offered nothing to treat his condition except antidepressants.

Briggs said pericarditis, which is an inflammation of the sac-like tissue surrounding the heart called the pericardium, was making his life hell.

“There were some nights where I just couldn’t sleep because of the sensation of someone standing on my chest or squeezing the top of my lungs,” he said.

‘I couldn’t stay down. The flat position puts the heart in a position that makes breathing difficult.’

Doctors told Briggs his condition was not serious enough for him to receive compensation from the now-closed Commonwealth scheme.

It has now joined a class action lawsuit led by Dr Melissa McCann that is suing Australian health authorities and prominent individuals associated with it for failing to fulfill their duty of care to those harmed by the vaccine.

Before getting vaccinated at the age of 23, Briggs worked in property leasing, studied computer science at university and said he was healthier than ever, running up to 10km every day.

Conor Briggs, 26, said heart injuries caused by two Covid vaccines led him to try to take his own life.

Conor said that before receiving the Pfizer Covid vaccines he was healthier than ever.

Conor said that before receiving the Pfizer Covid vaccines he was healthier than ever.

“I took my health a lot more seriously, eating healthy, going to the gym and all that,” he said.

“My arms had twice as much muscle as I have now.”

Although Covid vaccines were not mandatory for his job, Briggs said he felt pressured to receive them.

“My boss every other day would say, ‘Hey, are you getting vaccinated?’ Everyone else at work basically talked about it every day,” Mr. Briggs said.

Before receiving his first Covid jab on September 17, 2021, Briggs said he had no particular concerns despite seeing some media reports about people suffering blood clots and heart problems after receiving them.

“I didn’t research the safety of vaccines because I thought ‘doctors know what they’re talking about,'” he said.

‘I had no reason not to trust them. I thought I was actually doing something good.’

A few hours after receiving the first injection, Mr. Briggs began to experience moderate chest tightness and breathing problems.

Briggs has not been able to work since receiving the injections and spends most days at home.

Briggs has not been able to work since receiving the injections and spends most days at home.

Although hospitals and cardiologists had diagnosed Mr Briggs with pericarditis after his Pfizer Covid vaccine, they could offer little in the way of treatment.

Although hospitals and cardiologists had diagnosed Mr Briggs with pericarditis after his Pfizer Covid vaccine, they could offer little in the way of treatment.

Specialists often did not understand Conor's symptoms after the initial diagnosis of pericarditis.

Specialists often did not understand Conor’s symptoms after the initial diagnosis of pericarditis.

When problems persisted, she went to see her GP, who told her it was still a good idea to get the second Covid jab for “full protection”.

He also gave Mr. Briggs some anti-inflammatory medications that made his health problems “90 percent go away.”

Briggs received a second Pfizer vaccine on October 8, 2021 with devastating results within hours of being administered.

“It felt like a weight on my chest,” he said.

“I felt like I was a different weight than I was after the first shot. Tenser, harder to breathe and I was super tired the next day.

“But I thought it was one of the expected side effects and I showed that the vaccine was working.”

However, in the days that followed there were no signs of improvement and Briggs said he experienced alarming physical deterioration.

“Two days after the second injection I went back to work and there are 10 stairs to get to the office,” Mr Briggs said.

“About five or six steps up, my chest became much tighter and breathing was much more difficult than normal.”

Eventually Mr Briggs returned to the GP.

“She said, ‘I’ll never forget this line: ‘Oh, fortunately, it’s just pericarditis,'” Mr. Briggs said.

“I thought, ‘How lucky I am, I’m 23 years old and I have heart problems.'”

Bosques de los Caídos features stories from people who claim to have been harmed by Covid vaccines (pictured at an exhibition at Adelaide's Christies Beach in March)

Bosques de los Caídos features stories from people who claim to have been harmed by Covid vaccines (pictured at an exhibition at Adelaide’s Christies Beach in March)

Northern Beaches grandmother Rosemary Marshall, 70, organizes the Forest of the Fallen for Sydney's north side.

Northern Beaches grandmother Rosemary Marshall, 70, organizes the Forest of the Fallen for Sydney’s north side.

The Australian Department of Health warns that ‘most cases of myocarditis and pericarditis related to COVID-19 vaccination have been mild and patients have recovered quickly.’

Briggs said he’s not convinced.

“A lot of people have been told the same thing but have had to have surgery to drain the fluid because it doesn’t just go away,” he said.

Briggs said he tried “five or six” different cardiologists over a year to find the treatment that worked for him.

However, he claimed that none of the specialists were able to tell him much about his condition and one even abruptly ended the consultation by telling him: “Well, I’ve done everything I could.” There’s nothing else I can do. Bye bye.’

Another told him: ‘Conor, you’ve wasted so much time, you’ve wasted so much money when you probably could have taken these antidepressants and been fine.’

“I took one,” said Mr. Briggs.

‘But just a minute after taking it I thought this wasn’t right.

‘I know that my condition is physical and not mental. If I can solve the physical problem, I won’t have mental problems.’

Briggs said he and his family have spent more than $100,000 trying a bewildering array of medications, herbs and other treatments to relieve his symptoms with nothing making much difference until he saw an osteopath a little more than two years ago.

“He’s the only one that has made a noticeable difference in my breathing,” Briggs said.

Although seeing the osteopath has made his heart problem more bearable, it still rules his life.

“The sun and the heat make my heart flutter,” Mr Briggs said.

‘I have chest tightness and have trouble breathing when I go up a hill or climb more than 20 steps.

‘I have to plan my day. If it’s a hot day I can’t stay outside for long. My usual days are spent at home seeing if there are other treatments or things that might work.’

He finally told his unsuspecting family how close he had come to taking his own life.

“They were obviously a little surprised, but they were glad I told them,” Mr Briggs said.

If his health and the weather permit, Conor tries to reach the so-called ‘Forest of the Fallen’, a weekly protest held on Sydney’s northern beaches, where bamboo sticks are stuck in the sand to show stories of people who claim the Covid vaccine harmed them.

“Doing Forests of Fallen, I’ve met a lot of people in my position, a lot of people who didn’t even know that injections had side effects,” Mr Briggs said.

Northern Beaches grandmother Rosemary Marshall, 70, organizes the Forest of the Fallen for Sydney’s north side.

He said he met Mr Briggs through his mother Paula.

“I could hear the anguish in his voice and the anxiety,” Marshall told Daily Mail Australia.

“Paula was so keen to help Conor, she is absolutely his support system.”

Briggs said Dr. McCann’s class action lawsuit on behalf of those harmed by vaccines was a long shot at monetary compensation, but he hoped it would achieve other results on behalf of those who claim to have been harmed by vaccines.

In response to questions about Mr Briggs’ case, a Pfizer spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the vaccine “saved countless lives”.

“Pfizer is deeply committed to the well-being of the patients it serves and has no higher priority than ensuring the safety and effectiveness of its treatments and vaccines,” the spokesperson said.

‘The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to more than 4.3 billion people in 180 countries and territories around the world, demonstrated a favorable benefit-risk profile across all age groups, and helped protect against severe outcomes of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death.

“The safety of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine continues to be closely monitored through post-licensure surveillance by Pfizer, BioNTech and regulatory authorities around the world.”

Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration advice on Covid vaccines

Vaccination against COVID-19 is the most effective way to reduce deaths and serious illnesses from infection.

Four main COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for use in Australia: Comirnaty (Pfizer), Spikevax (Moderna), Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) and Nuvaxovid (Novavax). However, Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) is no longer available. Bivalent vaccines for both mRNA vaccines are also registered in Australia. These cover the Omicron BA.1 and BA.4-5 variants. All of these COVID-19 vaccines have met the TGA’s high standards for quality, safety and efficacy.

Like all medications, COVID-19 vaccines can cause some side effects. The most frequently reported include injection site reactions (such as pain in the arm) and more general symptoms, such as headache, muscle pain, fever, and chills. This reflects what was seen in clinical trials.

Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart or the membrane surrounding the heart) is reported in about 1 to 2 in 100,000 people who receive Comirnaty (Pfizer), about 2 in 100,000 who receive Spikevax (Moderna) and about 4 in every 100,000 people. who receive Nuvaxovid (Novavax).

If you need someone to talk to in a personal crisis, call Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14

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