Covid-19 sceptic dies from the virus after being 'put off' getting the jab by anti-vaxxers

29 August 2021, 14:47

Marcus Birks, 40, from Leek, Staffordshire, died on Friday
Marcus Birks, 40, from Leek, Staffordshire, died on Friday. Picture: Facebook

By Asher McShane

A Covid-19 sceptic who turned down being vaccinated against the virus has died, his devastated wife said.

Marcus Birks, 40 died on Friday after he was admitted to the intensive care unit at Royal Stoke University Hospital earlier this month.

Before his death he had urged other people to get vaccinated against the virus.

Mrs Birks wrote on Facebook: "The pain I feel writing this is unbearable, my heart has been ripped out, my soul and world completely and utterly shattered.

My husband, my best-friend, my soulmate, Marcus passed away yesterday morning."

Marcus had been expecting a baby boy in November with wife Lis.

"I made him a promise that I will tell our baby boy everyday how much he loves him, how special he is and how he would have been/is the best dad a son could ever wish for," his wife said.

Earlier this month his mother said the family was "in bits."

She told StokeTrentLive: "He thought it was everybody’s choice if they wanted to have the vaccine or not.

"He is a health freak and he likes to go to the gym all the time. He is 100% healthy. He doesn’t like taking paracetamol.

“It was his choice at the time not to take the vaccine. Now he wishes he had taken it.

“He is in hospital very poorly with Covid and blood clots. It’s a bit of a bad time what he is going through at the moment."

Not long before his death Mr Birks said: "If you haven't been ill, you don't think you're going to get ill, so you listen to the [anti-vaccine] stuff.

"When you feel like you can't get enough breath, it's the scariest feeling in the world."

He said information had been skewed by social media and conspiracy theorists and he had not had the vaccine.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Breaking
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year

International arrest warrant issued for Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu

Matt Hancock giving evidence at the Covid 19 inquiry

Matt Hancock tells Covid inquiry government did 'everything we possibly could' during pandemic

Matt Hancock was booed as he arrived to testify at the Covid-19 inquiry

Matt Hancock booed as he arrives to give evidence at Covid inquiry

Four days of weather alerts are in place for the arrival of Storm Bert

Storm Bert set to bring snow, blizzards and downpours as four days of weather warnings issued

Kyiv says Russia has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile in an attack on Ukraine

Russia's revenge: Moscow 'launches intercontinental ballistic missile’ in attack on Ukraine

Hannah Ingram-Moore and Captain Tom

Who is Hannah Ingram-Moore? Captain Tom's 'leading businesswomen daughter'

The "Prescott Punch" is one of the most iconic moments in modern British political history

Infamous moment John Prescott punches protester who threw egg at him

Exclusive
Gordon Brown pays tribute to "working class hero" John Prescott.

Gordon Brown pays tribute to 'colossus' John Prescott after his death aged 86 following battle with Alzheimer's

(L) British lawyer Simone White, 28, is seriously ill in hospital. (R) Bianca Jones, 19, has become the fourth person to die after consuming alleged 'methanol-laced' drinks in Vang Vieng, Laos

London lawyer fights for her life and Australian backpacker dies after drinking 'methanol-laced' shots from bar in Laos

Russia is threatening to use new missiles in Ukraine after US and UK rockets were used in their territory

Putin 'to retaliate with new Frontier missiles in Ukraine' after US and UK give green light to fire rockets in Russia

Smaller drones, costing a fraction of Watchkeeper’s £5.2 million unit price, are being used to great effect in Ukraine for reconnaissance and precision strikes.

The British Army’s £1.35bn Watchkeeper drone programme: From ambition and innovation to delays, failure, and abandonment

GERMANY-TRANSPORT-TRAFFIC

Hundreds of drivers left stuck in vehicles in freezing conditions on M2 after serious crash between pedestrian and lorry

TV host Ellen Degeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi are reportedly planning to move permanently to rural England

Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi 'to flee US and move to England' after Trump's election win

Exclusive
‘The storm of war is gathering’: Defence cuts leave UK critically unprepared for a 'bumpy decade', warns ex-minister

‘The storm of war is gathering’: Defence cuts leave UK 'woefully unprepared' for a 'bumpy decade', warns ex-minister

Tony Blair leads tributes to John Prescott

'Devastated' Tony Blair leads tributes to John Prescott after former deputy PM dies aged 86

North Korea Deepens Russian Alliance: Troop Deployments Prioritise Advanced Weapons Technology Over Financial Gains

North Korea deepens alliance with Russia, trading troop support for advanced weapons technology to fuel nuclear programme