Dad-to-be who ‘put off’ getting a Covid vaccination dies in hospital aged 40
This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.
and live on Freeview channel 276
A Covid sceptic dad-to-be died on Friday after being hospitalised with the virus.
Marcus Birks, 40, from Leek, Staffordshire, was admitted to the intensive care unit at Royal Stoke University earlier in August.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdMr Birks, who was a musician alongside his wife Lis Birks, had said in an interview with the BBC earlier in this month he was “shocked” to have become so unwell from Covid because he “rarely got ill”.
‘First thing I am going tell all my family to do is get the vaccine’
Mr Birks, who had not had the vaccine, said: "If you haven’t been ill, you don’t think you’re going to get ill, so you listen to the [anti-vaccine] stuff.
“When you feel like you can’t get enough breath, it’s the scariest feeling in the world."
The 40-year-old said his symptoms started with a flu-like feeling, which got progressively worse, and he was eventually admitted to hospital, suffering from breathing difficulties.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"First thing I am going tell all my family to do is get the vaccine and anybody I see," he said.
He said information about the virus and the vaccine had been skewered on social media and conspiracy theorists.
Mrs Birks, who is pregnant, wrote on Facebook: "The pain I feel writing this is unbearable, my heart has been ripped out, my soul and world completely and utterly shattered."
She went on to describe her husband as her best friend and soulmate.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdMrs Birks thanked people for their kind words, adding: "I made him a promise that I will tell our baby boy every day how much he loves him, how special he is and how he would have been/is the best dad a son could ever wish for."
A message from the editor:
Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going. You can also sign up to our newsletters and get a curated selection of our best reads to your inbox every day.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.