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An Adelaide public servant is set to receive compensation for a heart condition he developed from a reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Daniel Shepherd, 44, developed pericarditis after a rare reaction to his third Pfizer COVID-19 jab, which he was required to have before beginning a job with the Department of Child Protection.
Shepherd told 9News he now has the heart of a 90-year-old.
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He was vaccinated against COVID-19 twice.
Both jabs made him unwell but he chose to get a third dose because of the government mandate.
The day after his booster shot he was rushed to hospital.
Shepherd said it felt like someone was holding a knee down on his chest.
"Even today with just mild exertion [I get] chest pains and then it's followed by fatigue, like severe fatigue," Shepard said.
The father of a five-year-old now finds it difficult to keep up with his son.
"It's heartbreaking to have to say 'sorry buddy, daddy's tired'," Shepard said.
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After he was unable to work, Shepard launched a workers compensation claim against the government.
In a landmark ruling in mid-January, the South Australian Employment Tribunal agreed to pay weekly compensation and medical bills to Shepherd.
Doctors were unanimous in his case that the vaccine was the cause but the government argued emergency directions trumped the laws around workplace injury.
Pericarditis is meant to clear within a few months but Shepherd's symptoms have plagued him for almost two years.
The condition affects two in every 100,000 people.
