05 Angela

Angela J (57yrs)

North Canterbury

Dose 1: Pfizer-BioNTech 17 JUL 2021 FC5029

Dose 2: Pfizer-BioNTech 13 AUG 2021 FG0050

I was mandated to get the first two jabs for a casual support worker job; I resigned from that role as I refused to get the booster. Fortunately this was not my main employment.

Timing of onset: between 12 hrs and one month after the second shot

The Adverse Events were reported to CARM. There was no acknowledgement of receipt or follow-up. Not reported to ACC due to lack of support from GP.

Timing of adverse event (after the 2^nd jab)	Details
Within 12 hrs	Headache, sore arm at injection site
Within 2 days	Woken at night by a severely pounding heart; I would have to pace the house to get it resolved enough that I could go back to sleep. This happened every night for at least a week. It has since settled but recurs occasionally at night. Not reported at the time as there had been no discussion at the time of injection about this being a possible adverse event.
Within 2 days	Left arm (injected side) – muscular pain. Unable to raise this arm above horizontal due to muscle pain in the arm and shoulder. Developed left-sided neck pain which extended down and around the left shoulder blade. Unable to turn my head to the left. Three chiropractor and two physio appointments did not resolve this. Finally resolved itself after 8 mths (although some left-sided upper arm muscle pain remains in certain positions).
Within 1 week	Intermittent days of intense fatigue where I could barely move or function (avg 1 day a week).
Within 1 week	Intermittent days where everything ached – joints and muscles – right down to the top of my feet and my fingers (avg 1 day a week).
Within 1 week	Unable to thermoregulate properly. Could not get warm – during days of temperatures in the high 20’s over summer, I would wear a fleece jumper and still be cold. Ongoing.
Within 2 wks	Unusual weight gain of around 4kg (no obvious cause, although the fatigue and inability to regulate my temperature likely indicated a thyroid/adrenal issue – confirmed by Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis and now undergoing supervised alternative treatment for such with supplements and dietary changes).
Within 1 mth	Two periods of intense lower back spasms, the first of a few days, the second lasting a wk. Intensity was such that I could not get in or out of bed unaided and once in bed I was unable to change position, couldn’t get dressed or undressed by myself, any movement triggered an intense spasm, even breathing was very uncomfortable. Resolved.

After having Covid in March 2022, the fatigue increased considerably so I visited my GP.

I reported the heart palpitations to my GP who ordered blood tests and an ECG. The ECG literally took no more than 15 sec so I queried how doing a test over such a short period of time during the day would show up any unusual heart activity which was occurring during the night. I was told that 15 sec was sufficient to show anything unusual.

I explained some of the other reactions I had to the second vaccination and as expected, these were minimised and I was made to feel paranoid. I was told that the heart palpitations were the result of heart muscle inflammation and just minor and most likely just chest rather than heart pain. Both the GP and the nurse who did the ECG kept saying it was ‘Long Covid’; I kept trying to explain that all the adverse events I experienced began after the second jab (6 mths prior to having Covid). It was clearly not Long Covid but they wouldn’t acknowledge the timeline.

Kind regards, Angela J

Informed Consent

From: https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/health-a-z/i/informed-consent/#Overview

Informed consent is the process of talking about options so you can make an informed decision about your health care. This includes the option of saying no to a treatment or procedure.

Key points:

You have the right to make an informed choice about your health care.

Informed consent is an ongoing process of talking and asking questions between you, your doctor or other healthcare provider and, sometimes, your family/whānau.

To help you decide whether you want a treatment or procedure, your healthcare provider must give you all the information you need to make up your mind.

This includes how the treatment or procedure would help your health condition and what the risks of the treatment are.
There are a few situations where you may be treated without consent, such as in an emergency.

What is informed consent?

Informed consent is the process of talking and asking questions until you have enough information to make a decision about your healthcare options. This includes the option of saying no to having a treatment (such as medicine) or a procedure (such as an operation).

To give informed consent, you must know enough about your condition and the treatment or procedure your doctor or other healthcare provider has suggested. You must have this information given to you in a language and way that you can easily understand. You should have access to an interpreter if you need one.

You also have a right to have someone else with you to provide support while you are talking about your options.

Why is informed consent needed?

You have a right under the law to make an informed choice about your health care. This is one of your rights under the Code of Health and Disability Consumers Rights.

Under the Code, health care may be provided to you only if you make an informed choice and give informed consent. You also have the right to say no to a proposed treatment or procedure, or change your mind about wanting to go ahead with it.

When is informed consent needed?

Your doctor or other healthcare provider must make sure that you have given informed consent for every proposed healthcare service.

When you are going to have a series of similar treatments, eg, dialysis or counselling, your healthcare provider will talk with you before starting the treatment to make sure you agree to it. The consent you give then covers the whole series of treatment.

If the agreed plan changes a lot, a new consent process is needed.

Examples of situations when informed consent is required include:

when you are having surgery (an operation) or other procedure

when you need to have an anaesthetic

if students or observers are going to be there for your treatment

if you take part in research

when any part of your body will be taken out during a procedure

if you will be getting blood or blood products

if you are enrolled in a screening programme

if your doctor wants to prescribe a medicine that has not been approved by Medsafe for use in New Zealand (called unapproved medicines)

if your doctor wants to prescribe a medicine for a different use than that approved of by Medsafe (also called off-label use).

What type of information should I get for informed consent?

Before giving your consent, your doctor or healthcare provider must fully and clearly explain to you:

how this treatment or procedure will help your health condition

what happens during the treatment or procedure

what other options there might be

what you can expect after the treatment or procedure

any risks that may be associated with the treatment or procedure.

You can also ask any questions you want about the treatment or procedure.

What are the different types of consent?

You will need to give either verbal consent or written consent.

Verbal consent means talking about and saying you agree to a particular treatment. This includes when your doctor prescribes an approved medicine for your condition.

Written consent means you need to fill out a form and sign it to show you agree to a particular treatment. This happens for more significant treatments, such as an operation.

How is informed consent gained for children and young people?

For children and young people under the age of 16, consent may be given by a parent, guardian or other person acting in the place of a parent. Depending on the child’s age, they will be involved as much as possible and information will be given to them in a way that they can understand.

A young person aged 16 years and over can consent to their treatment as if they were an adult.

How is informed consent gained for people who are incompetent?

In legal terms, people who cannot decide for themselves whether they want a treatment or not are called ‘incompetent’. This may be because of health conditions such as a brain injury or dementia.

Consent for people who are incompetent may be given by their welfare guardian or a lawyer who has an enduring power of attorney in respect of care and welfare for that person.

What if I didn’t get to give informed consent?

If you have any concerns about not getting a chance to talk about and make an informed decision about a treatment before it was given to you, you can make a complaint. Read more about the Code of Health and Disability Consumers Rights.