Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

UK’s first Omicron death ‘was unvaccinated conspiracy theorist’

A man, giving his name only as John, made the claim after phoning in to Nick Ferrari’s show on LBC.

Luke O'Reilly
Thursday 16 December 2021 11:41 EST
First Omicron Death Reported in the UK

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The first person to die from the Omicron variant in the UK was an unvaccinated conspiracy theorist, it has been claimed.

A man, giving his name only as John, made the claim after phoning in to Nick Ferrari’s radio show on LBC

John, from Smithfield said his sister told him that his stepfather had died from Omicron in a hospital in Northampton.

He said he knew it was his stepdad because his sister had been informed by doctors at the hospital.

“He wasn’t vaccinated at all”, John said of his stepfather.

“My sister, she’s gutted – but on the other hand she’s a little bit angry that he never took these vaccines.

“She did have an argument with him at the end of October about this very thing, getting vaccinated.

“He thought it was a conspiracy. He was an intelligent man but it’s all these different things you are getting from online and different media things – about oh it’s not real – conspiracy theories really.”

He said his stepdad died on Monday after falling ill at the beginning of the month.

“I didn’t have a relationship with him, my sister did,” he said.

“From what she told me, they [doctors] phoned her every day.”

John said his stepfather initially looked like he was doing better before going “downhill”.

“He was fit, he ate healthy, he didn’t smoke, he hadn’t drunk in 30 years near enough.”

He added that if his stepdad had been vaccinated he might still be alive.

“Had he been vaccinated, he would probably still be here. He might be ill, but he’d still be here.

“If you’re vaccinated and you’ve got your booster, you should be alright. It’s the ones that haven’t got it, they’re the ones that need to be worried now,” he said.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in