Paul Matona will not blow out his 44 candles on 28 July. Struck down by a heart attack, the 43-year-old father was vaccinated against Covid-19 some 12 days earlier.
In Boulet Rouge, Flacq, there is consternation. Teesha, 17, still cannot believe she lost her father. Especially since there was no indication that he was going to leave any time soon: “My father had no apparent health problems. He was doing well and had been working as a plumber and electrician lately,” she explains.
On 26 June, Paul went to Mare La Chaux to receive the first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine. “He had gone with his family. As recommended, I had given him medication before the vaccination. He was vaccinated without any complications.”
But on 7 July, Paul was taken ill: “That day, he called me to tell me that he had fallen ill on the road not too far from our home. We rushed to see him, and he was in a really bad state. “
Back home, his situation worsened, and the family called the emergency services: “My father could no longer stand. He was breathing with difficulty. When the ambulance arrived, the staff refused to take him to the hospital because we live upstairs.”
Struggling desperately against death, Paul died in his daughter’s arm: “Suffering from excruciating pain, he fell out of his bed. When I ran to pick him up, he died in my arms.”
Although the link between his vaccination and his death has not been proven, this does not prevent the family from asking questions: “My father had no history of acute coronary occlusion as mentioned in the autopsy report. We still can’t understand his death,” says Teesha, her voice choked with grief.
The funeral is scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday 11 July, at 2.30 pm.
