45-Year-Old Canadian Paralyzed After Pfizer Shot Waiting for Government to Respond

Julian Scholefield was paralyzed from the waist down in July 2021, 12 days after his second Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Nearly a year later, he’s still waiting for the government to respond to his request for compensation.

More than 11 months after becoming paralyzed from the waist down 12 days after getting his second dose of a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, Julian Scholefield is waiting for the Canadian government’s decision on his request for compensation.

“I’m paralyzed now, not because of a reckless accident, but because I followed the guidelines of our government, and so that validation and recognition is definitely something that would mean a lot to me,” Scholefield told CBC News.

Scholefield, a 45-year-old in British Columbia, was diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), a rare neurological disorder that causes inflammation of the brain and spinal cord that damages myelin — the protective covering of nerve fibers.

“My life has become a daily struggle and my wife and children must provide care and assistance for me,” Scholefield said.

According to the Canadian government, there have been 46,149 reports of adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines. Only a handful of Canadians who reported being injured have received compensation.

‘Within a two-hour period, I ended up paralyzed’

Scholefield first noticed a tingling sensation in his leg on July 25, 2021, while he and his family were boating on Okanagan Lake.

“Rather than getting better, it actually progressed worse and went from being just in the left leg to the right leg as well,” Scholefield told CBC News on June 22.

“Within a two-hour period, I ended up paralyzed from really the mid-section down.”

A neurologist later diagnosed him with a myelitic form of ADEM, which can lead to paralysis, vision loss and difficulty coordinating voluntary muscle movements, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Read More: 45-Year-Old Canadian Paralyzed After Pfizer Shot Waiting for Government to Respond