Widower of BBC Newcastle presenter Lisa Shaw sues AstraZeneca over vaccine complications

The grieving widower of much-loved BBC presenter, Lisa Shaw, is suing AstraZeneca for his wife's death which a coroner confirmed had been caused by "complications from the vaccine."

Gareth Eve has spoken about his "suffocating heartache and anxiety" since Lisa's death in May 2021, aged just 44.

He said: "The AstraZeneca vaccination, which the government told us was "safe and effective" killed Lisa. That vaccination killed my wife. It says so in black and white on her death certificate. I watched it happen before my eyes."

Last weekend, on 1 April 2023, Mr Eve tweeted: "I'll love you forever Lisa."

Lisa Shaw presented BBC Radio Newcastle on 7 May 2021, unbeknown to anyone it would be the final time.

Following her first vaccine jab one week later, she fell seriously ill and was treated for blood clots and cerebral bleeding.

The mother-of-one died in Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary on 21 May.

Later that year in August, Newcastle coroner Karen Dilks said Ms Shaw had died from a very rare "vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia," a condition which leads to swelling and bleeding of the brain.

Mr Eve now raises their eight-year-old son, Zachary, alone.

He said: "I grieve for everything Lisa will miss. Everything our son will miss and for my loss too. It's heavy carrying loss around every day."

The Department of Health said all vaccines had "undergone robust trials".

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was the first approved for use in the UK in December 2020 with the government ordering 100 million doses for its vaccination programme.

Mr Eve has joined a group of families who are suing Oxford-AstraZeneca for the deaths of their loved ones allegedly caused by vaccine side-effects.

Mr Eve said: "We have been left with no alternative but to seek legal assistance."

Lawyers for the group sent the AstraZeneca pre-action protocol letters in November 2022 - the first step in a legal claim on behalf of about 75 claimants. Some have lost loved ones and some have survived with injuries.

The families are wanting the government and AstraZeneca to acknowledge the deaths occurred.

Mr Eve is upset that sometimes himself and the families are called "anti-vax" and referring to the government and AstraZeneca, said: "The disrespect is incredible. Their silence is deafening."

"Imagine feeling like you're saying something wrong talking about how your wife died?

"I want them to stop undermining us with their safe 'rare" stats - this has nothing to do with our losses or story. I'd like to know why the vaccine did what it did to Lisa and others.

"I would like them to engage with us about proper support for those injured and those now living a life without a husband, wife, mother, father or child."

The claimants are taking legal action under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 as well as claiming payment under the government's Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.

A spokesperson for AstraZeneca said: "Patient safety is our highest priority and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines. Our sympathy goes out to anyone who has reported health problems.  

"AstraZeneca and regulatory authorities, carefully record and assess all reports of potential adverse events associated with use of Vaxzevria. From the body of evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, Vaxzevria has continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) granted conditional marketing approval for Vaxzevria for the UK based on the safety profile and efficacy of the vaccine.   

"Over 3 billion doses of the vaccine have been supplied to more than 180 countries and, according to independent estimates, Vaxzevria helped to save more than six million lives worldwide in the first year of availability alone (December 2020 to December 2021)."

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