Anger at the Government’s silence over Britain’s only Omicron death was growing last night after a caller to a radio station claimed the victim was an anti-vaxxer in his 70s.
Only 16 people have been confirmed to have received the variant so far. One person has also died.
The victim’s identity was not revealed by the NHS or the Department of Health until four days later, when the news of his death broke.
Critics claim it might help ease fears about Omicron, if Omicron was declared a public health emergency and made it clear that Omicron had been killed by someone who hadn’t received vaccination.
They demanded ministers publish more details, to avoid ‘unnecessary alarm’.
LBC received a call from a person who claimed that the victim in his late 70s had turned down the jab, believing it to be part of a conspiracy by the government to control the populace.
He claimed that the victim had died at Northampton hospital. Due to the information vacuum, it was impossible for him to prove his claims. NHS England added confusion to the situation by stating that the death occurred elsewhere.
But it would not clarify where it did happen, saying it could not comment because they do not discuss ‘individual cases’.
That was in stark contrast to the approach last year, after the UK’s first known death from Covid, when the Government revealed she was ‘an older patient who had underlying health conditions’ and died at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.
Critics believe it would help to calm Omicron fears if it was made clear by the government that Omicron had been killed only because someone had not received a vaccine
LBC was called by a caller who said that the victim was in his 70s and had rejected the jab because he was convinced it was part of an ongoing government conspiracy to control population.
The caller – who said he was the victim’s stepson and was referred to on LBC as John from Smithfield in London – claimed the victim was a pensioner who had lived alone in a block of flats and died on Monday, a fortnight after catching the virus.
John said: ‘He was a recluse to be honest. He was never seen outside the home, had his meals delivered to him and left only to get to the mail box and bins. He was one of the cleanest guys I’d ever known.
‘But this is the important thing. He wasn’t vaccinated.
‘My sister is gutted, but on the other hand she’s a little bit angry that he never took the vaccine.
“She and he had an argument in October over this exact thing.
‘He thought it was a conspiracy. He found the article online. He was an intelligent person. Had he been vaccinated, he would probably still be here.’
John claimed that his stepfather had died within a week of being admitted. He said: ‘He… went downhill just like that. He wasn’t able to speak, he was scared.
‘I think if you’re in hospital, having 80 per cent oxygen fired at you, you would regret it (not having a jab) wouldn’t you? Yes.
“He was healthy. He ate healthy, he didn’t smoke and didn’t drink in 30 years.’
He added: ‘It’s the people who haven’t been vaccinated – they’re the ones that need to be worried now.’
Cancer specialist Karol Sikora said earlier this week that the Government was not providing the nation with enough information about the death, and that this was ‘unnecessarily alarming’.
‘Were they in hospital for Covid or were they there because they had been run over by a bus?,’ he said.
‘Have they had a booster? Do they look old?
‘There are all sorts of nuances to this thing, and we’re not being given proper information.
‘No details have been released, I suspect it’s just some old boy that’s tested positive, he may have died in his sleep or with a heart attack, who knows? It is unnecessarily alarming.’
Professor Sikora stated that he suspects that the lack of information regarding the vaccination or non-vaccination indicated that the individual died from another reason while receiving Omicron.
‘I suspect that it’s a death, which is unfortunate, but is due to something else, and it just happens to be Covid positive that’s why they’re not making a big noise about them being vaccinated or not,’ he added.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: ‘Obviously when it comes to individual deaths there is a right to patient confidentiality so we are limited in what we can say.’