Unable to work since COVID vaccination, Gatineau man pins hopes on compensation

Tisir Otahbachi has been living with itching and burning skin ever since getting vaccinated against COVID-19 in 2021. The 30-year-old Gatineau, Que., man has applied for financial relief under Quebec's vaccine injury support program but continues to wait for a decision. A Gatineau, Que., man who developed a debilitating skin ailment after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine nearly three years ago says he's still suffering despite seeking medical help both in Canada and abroad.

While Quebec's Ministry of Health acknowledged to CBC that a surge in COVID vaccine-related claims for compensation "may result in a delay in processing them," it could not comment specifically on Otahbachi's application.Otahbachi's symptoms first appeared about 10 days after his initial dose of the Moderna vaccine in July 2021. They worsened significantly within 48 hours of his second dose a month later.

Otahbachi, who was trained overseas as a pharmacy technician and worked in Canada as an Uber driver, has been unable to earn an income since falling ill. For more than three years, his young family — Otahbachi, his wife Fatima Outaleb and their two-year-old daughter — has relied on Outaleb's part-time salary to buy groceries.

Otahbachi finally connected with Dr. René Lavigueur, a family physician based 900 kilometres away in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts in Quebec's Gaspé region. They met in Laval, where Lavigueur examined Otahbachi. "I am probably the doctor in Quebec who is accepting willingly to represent them," said Lavigueur, who ruffled feathers within Quebec's medical community in 2021

Once the panel reaches consensus on a claim, they must then assess the severity of the injury using the same scale as Quebec's public auto insurance corporation. Benefits under the program can include coverage for income replacement, medical and "personal assistance" expenses, and the cost of rehabilitation.

"I couldn't speak, I couldn't lift my head for at least three months. I felt like my spine was being torn from my body," Ditzel told CBC.

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