The widow of a prominent north-east horse breeder has urged people to get the life-saving Covid vaccinations, despite the death of her double-jabbed husband.
Harry Sleigh, 53, had received both doses but fell seriously ill with coronavirus last month, and died a few weeks later.
The dad-of-two’s family were shocked at how quickly his condition deteriorated while he was at home in Fyvie.
Wendy Sleigh, his wife, explained: “He had his positive Covid result on the Wednesday morning at 8.20am and, by 4.10pm, I was calling an ambulance because he couldn’t breathe.
“It was a massive shock.”
Covid jab could have stemmed spread
Harry was taken to hospital on September 1, and arrived back home on the 6th.
But he was readmitted to the wards “in extreme pain” just two days later, with doctors concerned about blood clots forming.
Following his death, tributes have been paid to Harry from all corners of the north-east.
And his family are encouraging others to ensure they get the Covid jab to lower the chances of others succumbing to the illness.
Wendy said: “I think everybody has to get vaccinated.
“The boys and I weren’t affected by Covid, so whether Harry’s double vaccination prevented us picking it up, or whether our double vaccinations did, we’ll never know.
“But with four people in the house, one of us had a severe, acute infection and three of us didn’t.”
How many double-vaccinated people have died with Covid?
The latest stats from Public Health Scotland show 4,565 Covid-related deaths have been registered in Scotland since December 2019, 2020.
Of these, three-quarters were unvaccinated.
As vaccination rates have increased, the number of deaths in relation to vaccination status has also shifted.
In the week to October 1 there were 113 Covid-related deaths relating to Scots who were double-jabbed, and 21 for those unvaccinated.
But this amounts to 6.9 people per 100,000 unvaccinated, and 2.2 per 100,000 of those double-jabbed.
Overall, around four-and-a-half times more unvaccinated people have died from Covid between December 29 and October 6.
Praise for hospital staff
While Harry’s family were not allowed into the intensive care unit, he was able to communicate with his loved ones by phone.
Wendy added: “The ICU staff were really lovely, and every time he’d text, he would say they were incredible.
“That was really reassuring, that he felt safe in their hands.
“And whenever they phoned there was no rush, they were happy to give any information we wanted.
“They couldn’t have been more helpful.”