"Competent Husband, Can't Remember Events from 5 Minutes Ago After Pfizer Shot" 청원

White-Damaged Hippocampus... Suspected 'Autoimmune Encephalitis'

This expression is not directly related to the article [Photo by Getty Images Bank]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] A claim has been raised that a man in his 50s lost his short-term memory ability as a side effect after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

On the 28th, a petition titled "My 52-year-old husband’s hippocampus was damaged after the second Pfizer vaccination, and he cannot remember anything short-term. Please help" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board. As of 2 PM on the 29th, the petition had received about 1,750 signatures.

The petitioner began, "My husband showed symptoms such as high fever and abdominal pain for a week after receiving the second Pfizer vaccine dose on October 8. On the 12th, a general hospital examination indicated thrombosis, so he underwent tests at a university hospital emergency room that same evening."

A national petition has been posted claiming that the hippocampus of a husband who received the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was damaged, resulting in short-term memory loss. / Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Board capture

According to the petitioner, shortly after the tests, on the 15th, her husband collapsed at the company after everyone else had left. A coworker who had returned from a business trip found him collapsed and reported it, after which he was taken to the university hospital emergency room. CT, MRI, and cerebrospinal fluid tests revealed a diagnosis of short-term memory impairment with the hippocampus appearing white. The hospital suspected autoimmune encephalitis.

The petitioner lamented, "My husband underwent repeated seizures lasting a few seconds, continued tests, and fought a difficult battle with himself in the intensive care unit for 17 days."

After being transferred to a general ward, her husband received the first Rituximab treatment following medical staff’s recommendation for anticancer therapy, and after being admitted to a rehabilitation hospital, he underwent treatments from the second to fourth rounds, but his memory did not return at all. The petitioner said, "My husband cannot remember things from five minutes ago. Even if I visit the hospital and call him right after leaving, he does not remember when I visited."

She continued, "We reported the vaccine side effects when transferring my husband from the general hospital to the university hospital, and the university hospital also acknowledged the vaccine side effects. But I don’t understand why the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency does not recognize causality."

The petitioner also shared the hardship of bearing medical expenses alone after her husband collapsed. She said, "The hospital bills have already exceeded 10 million won, and the caregiving costs of over 3 million won per month are a burden on the family," adding, "My husband, who was the breadwinner, became a patient, and I go to work day and night, but with a monthly salary of less than 2 million won, it is impossible to cover living and medical expenses."

She added, "We would have to sell our house and car to maintain hospital bills, but in these difficult times, no one is coming to look at the house."

She further appealed, "Short-term memory impairment is a long-lasting aftereffect and requires a long time to resume social life. My husband will have to live with this aftereffect for life," and "He experiences frequent seizures and must take medication for life. How are the remaining family members supposed to live with such anxiety?"

Addressing the government, she said, "Who else but the country will take responsibility for my husband, who became like a fool because of the vaccine that the state recommended and we trusted?" She urged, "The President said, ‘You can trust the vaccine’ and ‘The government will fully compensate for side effects.’ I firmly believe those words. Please provide sufficient compensation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.