The death of an Alston-based musician is said by his fiancee to be due to complications after he had the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Zion — who also went by the name Lord Zion and toured Europe with his band SPiT LiKE THiS — has died aged 48, falling ill eight days after receiving the jab in May.
His partner, Vikki Spit, is now calling upon the Government to better educate medical staff on the side effects of COVID-19 vaccines and to re-work what she says is an outdated vaccine compensation scheme.
Prior to moving to Kirkhaugh, near Alston, in 2014, Zion achieved Rock Top 10 ranking with his band.
He went on to become an independent film-maker and took the trailer of his first feature film — Meet The Cadavers — to Cannes Film Festival.
In 2017 he published the autobiographical A Life Amid Crisis which reached number three in Amazon’s bestselling music biography chart.
According to Vikki, his death certificate confirms his death was due to a complication from the vaccine. When identified early, the treatment for vaccine-related blood clots is up to 80 per cent effective.
Vikki said she remained pro-vaccine but is calling for greater education of paramedics and other frontline medical staff to the risks and procedures surrounding blood clots following COVID-19 jabs.
“I am heartbroken to have lost my partner of 21 years so suddenly.
“Zion was not worried about COVID-19 as he was extremely healthy, but he was happy to get the vaccine as he was worried about spreading COVID-19 to others.
“I do not want to discourage vaccination, but I want to ensure that paramedics and frontline workers are educated about the risk so that people’s lives can be saved.
“The £120,000 payment from the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme does not begin to cover the loss of earnings that a person in their 40s would have made before they retired.
“There just isn’t the proper financial aid coming from the Government to support those who have lost family to the vaccine. The compensation scheme is not fit for purpose.
“We are all trying to do the right thing, and it simply isn’t good enough that small numbers of us whose lives are left in pieces are not properly supported by the Government, who actively encourages us to get these vaccines.”
Vikki’s case has been taken on by Hodge Jones & Allen Solicitors.
