A Mississippi man who experienced a blood clot after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, has been paralyzed on one side of his body and has been unable to speak, according to his family.
Brad Malagarie, 43, of St. Martin, suffered a stroke shortly after leaving last week to get the shot of a single dose, the WLOX news station reported.
“They called me and told me I had this vaccine and that something was wrong, we think it’s a stroke,” she told her aunt, Celeste Foster O’Keefe.
The father of seven was rushed to hospital, where he was determined to have a stroke as a result of a blood clot in his brain, the dam reported.
“I said make sure you tell the doctors that you got this vaccine against J&J and that, for me, that caused her stroke,” her aunt said.
O’Keefe said he was taking medication for high blood pressure, but that otherwise he was a “young and healthy” man.
Now, the medical episode has left him paralyzed on the right side of his body, he said.
“She can’t talk or walk now. He is paralyzed on his right side. He knows who we are and will only cry when he sees us, ”said O’Keefe.
He said doctors do not know how long it will take to recover.
“We want him to be able to communicate, to be able to walk and talk again, even if it’s not perfect,” O’Keefe said.
Federal regulators stopped using the single-dose J&J shot Tuesday after six women between the ages of 18 and 48 developed blood clots, including one that died.
On Wednesday, the pharmacist revealed two more cases in recipients, including a man.
It is unclear whether inoculation is related to the rare cases of blood clotting, which occurred in more than 7.2 million people who have received the vaccine.
“The CDC and the FDA are working quickly to investigate each case and understand if there is a causal relationship between these blood clots and the administration of vaccines,” said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.