A “VACCINE sceptic” dad has died from Covid after he said he wished he could turn back in time and get jabbed.
Matthew Keenan, 34, told his friends that he regretted turning down the Covid-19 vaccine after he was hospitalised and placed in an induced coma earlier this month.
But the 34-year-old tragically died just weeks after catching the killer virus.
The young dad agreed for his doctor to share his story after he said he ”wished he could go back in time” to get the vaccine.
Leanne Cheyne, a respiratory consultant at Bradford Royal Infirmary, tweeted a picture of Matthew hooked up to oxygen in the hospital.
She wrote: “Matthew has agreed for me to share his story.
“34, footie coach and dad. Self-confessed vaccine sceptic until he caught Covid if he could turn back time he would.
“Our sickest patients are unvaccinated and under 40.
“Matthew is fighting for his life…save yours. #GetVaccinated #GrabAJab.”
The dad who was described as the ”life of the party” shared an image of his positive Covid-19 lateral flow test on July 2.
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He said that the symptoms made him feel like he had been ”hit by a truck” after suffering from a fever and feeling ”freezing and red hot”.
The Liverpool fan added that the back pain left him feeling ”the most poorly I have ever been and I feel like it’s getting worse”.
He ended the post saying he was ”in bits” and that ”Covid is real”.
In a touching tribute, friend of more than 20 years Billy Brown said the world lost ”the kindest man”.
The 38-year-old added that ”grown men haven’t stopped crying” since the news of Matthew’s tragic death broke.
Matthew was a ”devoted dad, a fantastic friend, and an unbeatable coach,” he said.
Billy, from Bradford, West Yorks., said: “As he was getting more poorly, he said he wished he had gotten the jab.
“I can’t believe he’s gone, he was the most likeable lad I’ve ever met.
“Most people have one or two best friends, he had 20 best friends.
“He had the biggest heart and treated everyone like they were his family.
“There were not many like him. He loved to enjoy himself, he was the life and soul of every party.
“Many people will miss him.”
Billy was left in tears after he learned of his pal’s death this morning as he clung on to hope that he would still make it.
He said that when he first caught the virus everyone believed Matthew would get over it as he was a ”fighter and a survivor”.
Billy added: “We all thought it was Keenan, he’d get over this.
“Then he got put into a coma, and we were all praying for him. But we thought he was a fighter, a survivor.
“I’m a big strong lad, I’ve lost people before, but I’ve never cried so much as I did today as I did for anyone.”
In the UK nearly 46,000,000 have had their first vaccine, with 34,800,000 fully protected with two doses.
After one dose the Pfizer vaccine is 36 per cent effective against symptomatic illness from the Delta variant, and the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is about 30 per cent effective against getting ill.
And after two doses, the Pfizer vaccine is 96 per cent effective against hospitalisation and the AstraZeneca jab slashes the risk by 92 per cent.
