[Corona Behind] Nursing assistant for 'tetraplegia after vaccination', 9 months after that

※ 'Corona Behind' is a report by Park Soo-jin, a reporter from the Life and Culture Department of SBS Press Headquarters, who is running at the forefront of COVID-19 coverage. Once a week, reporters Park's articles and thoughts that were not included in the article are released to readers. [Editor's note]

I rang the bell and let out a few shallow breaths. How should I greet you? I had such a concern. Actually, I wanted to meet you 9 months ago, but I couldn't meet because of my and my family's exams. I vaguely thought, 'You'll be fine,' and forgot about it, but I received a text message a while ago.

April of last year. The case of a nursing assistant who showed symptoms of quadriplegia after being vaccinated with AstraZeneca caused a stir. So far, he is the only victim of adverse reactions after vaccination, which President Moon Jae-in ordered to directly review support measures. As the president ordered support and the news that it was later recognized as an industrial accident became known, Nursing Assistant A disappeared from the public's attention. I thought we would get along well, but the life of Mr. A, as told through her husband, was different from what I expected.

After making several requests through my husband, the interview was completed.

This is because she has expressed her desire to meet after receiving her quarantine pass.

Person A said that on the 24th of last month, he was able to receive an exception confirmation letter only after the exclusion of the quarantine pass was expanded to 'those who received a causality insufficient determination (4-1)' and 'those who received inpatient treatment within 6 weeks after inoculation'.

So I guess she thought she would be able to meet me in a space outside the house.

But in the end, it was at his house that I met Mr. A.

.

“I was afraid to go out and actually meet people. I didn’t even tell my friends that I had become like this. I kept cringing. Has the wind come already?”

Mr. A has never been interviewed by the media.

Even when my story became a public controversy, I couldn't go out.

Her family took over the media and government officials who came under the direction of the president.

“I had a severe headache right after the inoculation. But it was fine after about three days. But after about two weeks, ‘binocular double vision’, in which both objects were visible, appeared. I had a rash all over my body, and the next day I started vomiting. On the third day, it was like being stabbed in the brain with a thick awl every 3 seconds. After that, he went to the hospital and collapsed. He said he was unconscious for several days. Even after waking up, he had 'binocular double vision'. His tongue was paralyzed, his neck I couldn't move all the way down. I couldn't speak properly. I was discharged after a month, and the rehabilitation was really crazy. The house is now a mess. You have to walk fast anyway to do something. "

Mr. A said that he worked hard to rehabilitate to the point where symptoms of dehydration appeared.

He has worked hard to return to his normal life, but his daily routine has not yet been fully restored.

While he sat down with the reporter and talked, Mr. A's hand was still shaking.

He cautiously said, "My fingers are trembling slightly. Is this a symptom?"

asked.

A's gaze turned to the back of his hand.

"Oh, you're trembling like this. I didn't know until I told you.

Even though he took off his coat, the air in the house felt warm.

A cold sweat was also forming on Mr. A's forehead.

He asked if he could turn the temperature down a bit, and he replied:

"Even though the air in the house is warm, I feel a little cold. Especially my limbs and feet. I always wear sleeping socks. It's even worse at night, but somehow, when I put that hot paste on, it feels like it's still cheap, isn't it? I keep feeling that way."

At the time of inoculation, Mr. A was a nursing assistant as is known.

I took care of the babies at the postpartum care center affiliated with the hospital.

However, after being vaccinated, I was diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and after being discharged from the hospital, numbness in the extremities continued to appear, so I could not return to work.

Although the number of visits to the hospital has decreased compared to the first, I still receive rehabilitation treatment once a week and a neurologist and psychiatrist once a month.

These days, there are more medications for psychiatric treatment than rehabilitation or neurotherapy.

There are several types of antidepressants, such as antidepressants, tranquilizers, and medications for panic disorder.

Depression is caused by poor health after 9 months.

“At night, my body really hurts. My arms and legs hurt so much.. I can’t sleep even if I take sleeping pills. When I do that, I just get angry, but now that pain has become a daily thing. Why do I have to suffer like this? When I think about it, I sometimes injure myself without realizing it.”

“I mostly watch TV anime. I don’t want to watch the news, so I installed Netflix on purpose. I get sensitive when there is a vaccine story. One time, I got angry when I appeared on TV and threw a doll at someone who was talking about vaccines. After watching it, he said, 'Don't watch TV and never read anything posted on Naver'."

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not recognize the causal relationship between Mr. A's vaccination and the adverse reaction (acute disseminated encephalomyelitis).

It was a judgment that the evidence was insufficient (judgment 4-1).

However, industrial accidents were recognized by the Korea Labor Welfare Service.

It was recognized as a disease that appeared after being vaccinated in connection with work as a nursing assistant.

In Korea, there are only two cases, including Mr. A, that have been recognized for industrial accidents due to vaccination.

I am claiming treatment expenses for industrial accidents, but only treatment costs directly related to symptoms recognized as industrial accidents such as rehabilitation or neurological treatment are available.

There is no government management or support system for the aftereffects or trauma caused by adverse reactions or suspected adverse reactions after vaccination.

It is up to the person to endure and receive treatment.

"Actually (at the hospital) they don't accept me well. I don't want to take responsibility. These are things I've experienced myself. The first hospital I went to was 'It's okay. If you take medicine, you'll be fine' and 'Come to see the results a week after taking a CT scan'. "

Still, among those who complained of adverse reactions after vaccination and among the victims, Mr. A is considered 'a person who received a lot of support from the government'.

Person A expressed "I'm sorry".

A's husband works as the secretary general of the Vaccine Victims' Council while working at his own company.

Her husband, who used to travel to the island on weekends, now attends every weekend in the country for vaccine victims' candlelight vigils.

“I’m receiving treatment and I’m working hard to rehabilitate, but I don’t know how long this symptom will last or whether it will get better. It makes me think."

One of the contents that the Corona Vaccine Victims' Families Council is continuously demanding from the government is 'selection of designated hospitals for treatment of side effects of vaccines'.

This is the story of the need for a hospital that can professionally take care of not only the adverse reaction itself, but also the subsequent physical and mental sequelae and trauma.

The background to this argument is that general hospitals or clinics accessible to the general public often do not have expertise in adverse reactions and side effects that may occur after vaccination, and it is difficult to find appropriate medical staff.

The stories of the families of the victims of adverse reactions are that there are many medical institutions that are reluctant to be in the sensitive situation of patients claiming adverse reactions to vaccines.

In other countries, there are currently no hospitals that specialize in treating adverse reactions to the corona vaccine.

It is not easy in Korea.

However, even those who complain of suspected adverse reactions did not intend or foresee a situation like the present where the existing daily life collapses.

Whether it is right for the individual to handle the aftereffects and trauma, as well as the treatment of the symptoms of adverse reactions, is an area that needs to be considered.

(Reporter: Park Soo-jin, PD: Kim Do-kyun, Illustration: Kim Jeong-yeon, Producer: D Content Planning Department)