Covid vaccine nurse refused compensation because she is 'not disabled enough' despite permanent spinal damage

Marie-Claire Hoyle, a 44-year-old NHS nurse, developed transverse myelitis two weeks after her second AstraZeneca dose in August 2020, leaving her unable to hold a pen or toothbrush and numb from her collarbone to her thighs. The Government's Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme rejected her claim because her symptoms had since partially improved, ruling she no longer meets the 60 per cent disability threshold required to receive the £120,000 one-off payment.

Authorities accepted the vaccine caused her condition but still refused to pay, and an MRI confirms her spinal cord damage is permanent and will not heal.

Baroness Hallett's Covid-19 Inquiry had already called for reform of the 60 per cent threshold last April, and ministers are now promising an overhaul of the scheme.

Hoyle, a mother of three, still suffers daily chest numbness and nerve pain down her arm and is now calling for the compensation system to be reformed.