Unvaccinated Man Who Almost Died of COVID Gets Shot After Hospital Release: 'Huge Relief'

An unvaccinated man who nearly died with COVID has said one of the first things he did after being discharged from hospital was get a vaccine shot.

Andrew Pugh, 52, fell severely ill with COVID and ended up being hospitalized in early December. He then spent weeks in intensive care and reportedly nearly lost his life.

Pugh, from the U.K., was finally discharged in January and has been recovering from his severe COVID case at home.

Quoted in various U.K. media outlets, Pugh said that he didn't want anyone else to go through the same experience he did and added: "I got released from hospital and the very first thing I did was have my jab. It's a huge relief to have the jab."

The dad of three said that he would have had the vaccine as soon as possible if he were to go back in time, but he had been put off initially by reading anti-vaccine content on Facebook.

"I've got varicose veins in my legs and I'd been reading what people had been putting on Facebook about people dying with blood clots, and secondly I thought the vaccine was made too quickly," he told local regional government body Worcestershire County Council.

"The message is that I didn't want the vaccine—look how I ended up, I ended up in hospital… so please, get your vaccines."

Following his release from the hospital, Pugh has said he continues to use medical equipment at home to assist with his breathing. A photo on Facebook appears to show that he has been able to leave the house and go shopping with the help of his family.

There have been a number of cases in which people have changed their stance on vaccines after becoming ill with COVID.

A 26-year-old California woman, named as Wynter Ho by news outlet ABC 7, was discharged from the hospital this January after spending several months in the hands of medical staff due to COVID complications.

She had first fallen ill with the virus in July and was not vaccinated at the time, since she considered herself healthy and without any underlying medical conditions.

"I feel I was meant to catch it, to relay the message that young people my age need to get vaccinated," she told ABC 7 upon her release.

And U.K. woman Saja Ali, 31, said in January that having COVID "totally changed my mind" about vaccines after the virus left her bed bound for weeks. She said she had previously been a "complete anti-vaxxer" due to material she'd read online.