EXCLUSIVEConor was happy and healthy until he lined up for his Covid vaccines. Now he can't work, spends most of his time at home... and will never forget a doctor's five-word response to his ordeal
- 26-year-old's harrowing vaccine injury
- Admits he was close to ending his life
- READ MORE: Britney had a bright future as a sports physio until her Covid jabs
A young man claims he was so driven to despair by debilitating heart issues he suffered after having the Covid vaccines that he almost took his own life.
Despite seeing numerous cardiologists and being checked into hospital with a diagnosis of pericarditis following his second Pfizer vaccine, Conor Briggs, 26, said he was offered nothing to deal with the condition except anti-depressants.
Mr Briggs said the pericarditis, which is inflammation of the sac-like tissue surrounding the heart called the pericardium, was making his life hell.
'There were some nights where I just wouldn't sleep because of the feeling that someone was standing on my chest, or squeezing the top of my lungs,' he said.
'I couldn't lie flat. The position of going flat puts your heart in a position that makes it hard to breathe.'
Doctors told Mr Briggs his condition was not serious enough for compensation from the now closed Commonwealth scheme.
He has now joined a class action led by Dr Melissa McCann which is suing Australian health authorities and associated prominent individuals for failing in their duty of care towards the vaccine injured.
Before taking the vaccines at the age of 23, Mr Briggs was working in property leasing, studying IT at university and said he was the healthiest he had ever been, running up to 10km every day.
Conor Briggs, 26, said heart injuries caused by two Covid vaccines drove him towards trying to take his own life
Conor said that before taking the Pfizer Covid vaccines he was the healthiest he'd ever been
'I was taking my health a lot more seriously, eating healthily, going to the gym and all that,' he said.
'My arms were double the muscle I have now.'
Even though the Covid vaccines were not mandated for his work, Mr Briggs said he felt pressured to get them.
'My boss was every second day going "hey, are you going to get the shots?", everyone else at work was basically going on about it every day,' Mr Briggs said.
Before getting his first Covid shot on September 17, 2021, Mr Briggs said he had no particular concerns despite seeing some media reports about people suffering blood clots and heart issues after having them.
'I didn't look into the safety of the vaccines because I thought "the doctors know what they are talking about",' he said.
'I didn't have any reason not to trust them. I thought I was actually doing a good thing.'
A few hours after getting the first injection Mr Briggs began experiencing a moderate tightness in his chest and breathing issues.
Mr Briggs has been unable to work since taking the jabs and spends most days at his home
Although hospitals and cardiologists had diagnosed Mr Briggs with pericarditis that followed his Pfizer Covid vaccine they could offer little in the way of treatment
Specialists were often at a loss to understand Conor's symptoms after the initial diagnosis of pericarditis
When the issues persisted, he went to see his GP, who told him it was still a good idea to get the second Covid jab for 'full protection'.
He also gave Mr Briggs some anti-inflammatory drugs that made his health problems '90 per cent go away'.
Mr Briggs had a second Pfizer vaccine on October 8, 2021 with devastating results within hours of being jabbed.
'I just felt like a weight on my chest,' he said.
'It felt like a different weight than after the first shot. Tighter, harder to breathe and I was super tired the day after.
'But I thought it was one of the to-be-expected side effects, and showed the vaccine was working.'
However, in the following days there was no sign of improvement and Mr Briggs said he experienced alarming physical deterioration.
'Two days after the second shot I went back to work and there are 10 stairs to get into the office,' Mr Briggs said.
'About five or six stairs up, my chest became a whole lot more tighter, and it was a whole lot more difficult breathing than normal.'
Eventually Mr Briggs went back to the GP.
'She said, I will never forget this line, "oh luckily it's only pericarditis",' Mr Briggs said.
'I thought "lucky me, a 23-year-old with heart problems".'
Forests of the Fallen feature stories from people claiming to have been harmed by the Covid vaccines (pictured a display at Adelaide's Christies Beach in March)
Northern Beaches grandmother Rosemary Marshall, 70, organises the Forest of the Fallen for the northern side of Sydney
The Australian Department of Health advises that 'Most myocarditis and pericarditis cases linked to COVID-19 vaccination have been mild and patients have recovered quickly'.
Mr Briggs said he isn't convinced.
'A lot of people have been told the same thing but they have had to have surgery to drain fluid because it doesn't just go away,' he said.
Mr Briggs said he tried 'five to six' different cardiologists over the space of a year to find treatment that worked for him.
However, he claimed none of the specialists could tell him much about his condition with one even abruptly ending the consultation by telling him: 'Well, I have done all I can. There is nothing else I can do. Goodbye.'
Another told him: 'Conor you have wasted so much time, you have wasted so much money when you probably could have taken these anti-depressants and just been fine.'
'I took one,' Mr Briggs said.
'But only one minute after taking it I thought this isn't right.
'I know my condition is physical and not in my head. If I can fix up the physical problem I won't have mental issues.'
Mr Briggs said he and his family have spent more than $100,000 trying a bewildering array of drugs, herbs and other treatments to relieve his symptoms without anything making much difference until he went to an osteopath a bit over two years ago.
'He is the only one who has made a noticeable difference to my breathing,' Mr Briggs said.
Although seeing the osteopath has made his heart condition more bearable, it still rules his life.
'The sun and heat give me heart palpitations,' Mr Briggs said.
'I get a tight chest and its hard to breathe when I walk up a hill or more than 20 stairs.
'I have got to plan my day. If it is hot day I cannot be outside too much. My usual days are at home seeing if there are any other treatments or stuff that might work.'
He eventually told his unsuspecting family how close he had been to taking his life.
'They were obviously a bit shocked but glad that I told them,' Mr Briggs said.
If his health and the weather permits Conor attempts to get to the so-called 'Forest of the Fallen', a weekly protest held on Sydney's northern beaches where bamboo sticks are stuck in the sand to display stories of people claiming Covid vaccine harm.
'Doing Forests of Fallen I have met a lot of people in my position, a lot of people who didn't even know there were side effects with the shots,' Mr Briggs said.
Northern Beaches grandmother Rosemary Marshall, 70, organises the Forest of the Fallen for the northern side of Sydney.
She said she met Mr Briggs through his mother Paula.
'I could hear the heartbreak in her voice and the anxiety,' Ms Marshall told Daily Mail Australia.
'Paula was very anxious to help Conor, she is absolutely his support system.'
Mr Briggs said Dr McCann's class action on behalf of the vaccine injured was a long shot for receiving any monetary compensation but he hoped it achieved other results on behalf of those who claim to be injured by the vaccines.
In response to questions about Mr Briggs' case a Pfizer spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that the vaccine 'saved countless lives'.
'Pfizer is deeply committed to the well-being of the patients it serves and has no higher priority than ensuring the safety and effectiveness of its treatments and vaccines,' the spokesperson said.
'The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been delivered to more than 4.3 billion people in 180 countries and territories around the world, demonstrated a favourable benefit-risk profile in all age groups, and helped protect against severe COVID-19 outcomes, including hospitalisation and death.
'The safety of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine continues to be vigilantly monitored through post-authorisation surveillance by Pfizer, BioNTech, and regulatory authorities around the world.'
If you need someone to talk to in a personal crisis call Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14
