The bereaved family of an Albion Park man who died suddenly late last year say they are "deeply hurting" after a Queensland senator linked the young father's death to the COVID-19 vaccine without evidence.
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Daniel Perkins was a 36-year-old husband and father of two eight-year-old boys when he died in his sleep in December 2021.
This week, Queensland One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts delivered a speech to parliament in which he named Mr Perkins as a "victim" of the COVID vaccine.
He claimed Mr Perkins died of a heart attack after receiving his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
But Shane Andersen, the brother of Mr Perkins' wife Nikki, told the Mercury that the family did not yet know why Mr Perkins died and nor had they had any contact with Senator Roberts.
"It's just the most disrespectful thing I've ever seen," Mr Andersen said of the speech.
He said his sister was upset and disappointed.
The family was still awaiting the results of the coronial investigation, he said, and while they knew Mr Perkins had had an enlarged heart, they had no information on why that was.
Mr Andersen said the family had never even suggested that their loved one's passing might have been the result of him being vaccinated against COVID.
If it were the case that the vaccine played a role, he said, they would want that known because they would not want any other families to suffer the same pain.
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Mr Andersen said the family was supportive of vaccination and as well as Mr Perkins, he and his sister had also been vaccinated against COVID.
He said Senator Roberts' comments put pressure on the family because they suggested they had blamed the vaccine.
They are asking for Senator Roberts to apologise to them.
Senator Roberts has spoken out against COVID vaccination in the past; last October, the head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration John Skerritt said the senator's assertion that over 500 people had died of the vaccine was incorrect and "dangerous".
The TGA has identified 11 deaths in Australia likely related to the COVID vaccine, all of which occurred after the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The Mercury has contacted Senator Roberts for comment.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
