A North Staffordshire widow has finally managed to change the law following the death of her husband in March 2021. 

Newcastle resident Sheila Ward has campaigned to get the Vaccine Damage Payment, which is worth £120,000 and awarded if somebody dies after becoming severely disabled or becomes severely disabled because of certain vaccinations.

Sadly, Sheila's husband, Stephen Ward, 57, passed away as a result of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccination. 

Stephen had his vaccine on March 12 2021 and according to Sheila felt fine for the first week, however, after laying the patio at his mothers a week later came home and complained of a headache.

Over the weekend he rested and on Monday 22 Sheila went to check on him and he couldn't speak properly and had right sided droopiness. So she called an ambulance straight away and went to Royal Stoke thinking Stephen was suffering from a stroke.

Stephen was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital ten days after having his vaccination (SWNS).

Due to the communication problems Sheila was 'fortunately' allowed to travel to the hospital with Stephen.

After the examinations doctors told Sheila that they were treating Stephen for an Arterial Stroke, however had a strange reaction. During this time Stephen was communicating the best he could. After more scans, doctors realised Stephen was suffering from a venous Stroke.

After doing more blood work doctors informed Sheila that they were treating Stephen for a suspected vaccine induced thrombosis with thrombocytopenia.

Sheila recounts: "I was allowed to stay with him until he went to the ward. I rang in the morning to see how he was and they said he had some seizures and they rescanned and had pressure inside so he had to go to the theatre.

"He was in there for two hours. They rang in the afternoon and asked if we could come to the hospital. So me and my sons went to the hospital and they told us that the operation hasn't been successful and basically permission to turn off the life support. So within 24 hours he had died.

Stephen worked at the Co-op for 40 years and retired in July 2020 to take care of his mother (Google).

Stephen Ward died on 23 March 2021, following an inquest assistant coroner Mark Henley ruled that Stephen died as a result of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis with intra-cranial haemorrhages, caused by thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, caused by AstraZeneca Covid 19 vaccine administration. 

Stephen from Red Street worked at the Co-op for 40 years and retired in July 2020 to support his mother while she got back on her feet. On the day of his death he was due to take up a new job working on the national census. 

Commenting on Stephen's death an AstraZeneca spokesperson said: "We are very saddened by Stephen Ward's death and extend our deepest sympathies to his family for their loss.

"Patient safety is our highest priority and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines. 

"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."

An inquest after Stephen's death found that he died as a result of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccination (Unsplash).

Since Stephens's death Sheila has been campaigning to get the law changed over that vaccine payment after discovering from other victims that the payment could lead to the loss of benefits.

After contacting her local MP Aaron Bell in 2021, he secured various meetings with government ministers to discuss the problem and in 2023 received a commitment that the department for work and pensions would review the list of named exempt compensation schemes.

This change could benefit up to 239 bereaved claimants so far. The change is also in line with other compensation schemes related to the 7 July bombings, the Infected Blood scandal, the Manchester Arena bombings and those affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy, among other public tragedies.

The changes to the scheme became law on Sunday 9 July. 

Commenting on the changes Aaron Bell MP said: "I am absolutely delighted that we have convinced the Government to make this change. I am extremely grateful to Guy Opperman MP, the Minister for Employment, for listening to the points I raised on behalf of my constituent Sheila Ward and doing the right thing.

"I'd also like to pay tribute to Sheila Ward – I do not believe this change would have been made without her efforts. And I am personally very pleased to have played a part in bringing about this important change in the law, which addresses a real injustice for an already vulnerable and bereaved group of people.

"The Government, and all of us as MPs, quite rightly told the public that the vaccine was safe, effective, and that taking it was the right thing to do for society, regardless of your personal level of risk from Covid. I believe we therefore have a moral duty to the small group who were disabled or bereaved as a result of adverse reactions to the vaccine."

Commenting on the success of her campaign Sheila Ward said: "This is an important victory for those who have been bereaved as a result of vaccination, who are receiving means tested benefits, at the time of their partners' death. 

"If we had not won this change in law, those grieving the loss of a loved one would have been rendered even more financially vulnerable by the fact of receiving a VDPS payment. That made no sense, hence our campaign for reform. We are pleased that the Government have come to their senses on this point".

TO FIND OUT HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON YOUR BILLS THIS SUMMER - CLICK THE 'HELP FOR HOUSEHOLDS' BANNER ABOVE THIS ARTICLE. 

READ MORE: Stoke families invited to series of free storytelling festivals across the city 

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