Vegan dies of Covid-19 after refusing vaccine over animal testing

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A vegan man who rejected the Covid-19 vaccine citing concerns about animal cruelty, died regretting his decision, his wife said.

Glynn Steel “begged for the vaccine,” his wife Emma Steel said, before he was shifted to life support. But by then it was too late for the vaccine to be effective on him, she said.

“The last thing Glynn (Steel) said to me was ‘I have never felt so ill, I wish that I had the vaccine’,” Ms Steel, who is double-vaccinated, told The Sun.

Just a week after being shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a seriously ill Steel died of Covid-19 on 16 November, according to Ms Steel’s GoFundMe page set up to arrange funds for his funeral.

Steel had decided to skip inoculation, claiming that the vaccine was being tested on animals.

“He was a very gentle soul, he was a vegan and didn’t want the Covid vaccine because it was tested on animals," Ms Steel told The Sun.

Steel had read that major pharmaceutical players such as Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johsnon had tested their drugs on animals, which had added to his vaccine hesitancy.

But things took a turn for the worse late last month after the 54-year-old man came down with a cold, and eventually tested positive for Covid-19.

Steel’s condition grew worse within days due to his age and zero vaccine immunity. Ms Steel had to call for an ambulance on 2 November but none was available. She ended up having to drive him to the hospital. At that point, Steel was unconscious.

By November 10, Steel had slipped into a medically-induced coma after being put on life-support. He was barely making any progress while fighting the infection. On 16 November, he died within minutes of the life-support machine being turned off, the report added.

“After falling ill very quickly, Glynn was placed in intensive care, and then an induced coma. Within just a week he slipped away. Glynn was the most gentle soul, he loved travelling with his wife Emma, and animals were his world,” the GoFundMe page by Ms Steel read.

She has this message for people after losing her husband to Covid: "I insist to everyone I know to get the vaccine.”

The family is hoping to raise £4,000 for Steel’s funeral arrangements, out of which they have raised £1,680 as of Tuesday.