A Gatineau, Que., man who developed a severe skin condition after receiving a covid-19 vaccine says he’s ready to give up on Canada’s health-care system and seek treatment abroad. Mohammed Tisir Otahbachi, 29, received his first dose of the Moderna vaccine on July 15, 2021, at a Walmart pharmacy in Gatineau. Ten days later, small acne-like blisters appeared on his right hand.
Otahbachi, who goes by his middle name, told CBC he had never experienced any kind of skin problem before. He tried a topical cream suggested by a pharmacist, but it didn’t work. While serious complications from covid-19 vaccines are rare, Otahbachi had a sneaking suspicion his shot might have had something to do with the rash. Nevertheless, he was eager to receive his second dose and returned to the same pharmacy for another Moderna jab on Aug. 13, 2021.
“Two days after that, like 48 hours later, almost the whole of my body — my hands, arms, my legs, even my back — it was [hit with] the same thing, and it started burning a little bit. There was some pain,” Otahbachi recalled. “I recognized there is something happening on my body because of the vaccine.” Accompanied by his father, Otahbachi, who has no family doctor, went to the Gatineau Hospital. After waiting 23 hours and learning it could be many more, they left.
Editor’s Note: Accounts of serious debilitating skin conditions from the Moderna shot are included in the soon to be published updated timeline. Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine at UCSF and the director of the school’s immunocompromised host infectious disease program downplayed the adverse reactions by stating, “don’t freak out, it’s your immune system being trained like elite NAVY SEALS.” — mmd