Daniel was forced to have a Covid jab to keep his job. Then he fell gravely ill. Now he has secured a HUGE legal victory – but the damage is already done

A man who was once an active youth worker said he is now stuck in the heart of a 90-year-old after being forced to get a Covid booster to keep his job.

Daniel Shepherd, 44, won a landmark case saying the jab left him seriously ill, but the damage had already been done and is still affecting him two years later.

Mr Shepherd received two Covid-19 vaccinations while working at Baptist Care South Australia in 2021 and suffered adverse reactions to the jab both times.

He did not want to get a third dose when he started a new job at the Department for Child Protection (DCP) on October 19 that year..

But the father-of-one was told on January 28, 2022, that he needed to get a booster shot to keep his job as a child and youth worker.

Mr Sheperd received a Pfizer mRNA jab on February 24, 2022, but a day later he developed severe chest pain.

“It felt like someone had their knee right on my chest,” he said 9News on Wednesday.

The pain continued to worsen until March 11, when he thought he was having a heart attack and was rushed to Ashford Hospital in Adelaide. There he was diagnosed with post-vaccine pericarditis – an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart.

The illness only allowed Mr Shepherd to work in a part-time administrative role for a few months.

DCP acknowledged that the pericarditis was caused by Pfizer’s mRNA booster injection, but it denied liability for workers’ compensation, saying it was a statutory government directive and therefore excluded under the SA Emergency Management Act.

Mr Shepherd’s lawyer, Dr Peter Salu, said DCP ‘looked in that direction to (say) ‘We are not liable’ and the judge said ‘No’.’

“It is not surprising that some people who receive a dose of Covid-19 vaccine will suffer injury as a result,” Judge Mark Calligeros, deputy president of the SA Employment Tribunal, wrote in his judgment.

‘It would be astonishing if Parliament meant that a State employee, who was injured while complying with a directive of the EM (Emergency Management) Act, would be excluded from receiving workers’ compensation.

“I am not convinced that the Legislature intended to deny compensation to state employees injured while complying with a vaccination mandate designed to protect the health and well-being of citizens.”

Judge Calligeros added that Mr Shepherd needed to be vaccinated to continue working in healthcare.

This was ‘because (the state) wanted to protect and reduce the risk of infection to the public and the general public, and to members of the public receiving health care services in particular.

“It would be ironic and unjust if Mr. Shepherd were to be denied financial and medical support by acceding to the state’s desire to protect public health.”

In a landmark ruling, the judge ordered that Mr Shepherd be given weekly income support and payment of medical costs.

The ruling came despite SA Health still enforcing a mandatory Covid vaccination policy for some employees, even as similar policies have been scrapped in other states.

Pericarditis generally clears up within a few months, but Mr Shepherd’s symptoms have seriously affected his health for almost two years, including limiting the time he can play with his five-year-old son.

“It’s really heartbreaking to say, ‘Sorry buddy, Dad’s tired,’” he said. Even today, with mild exertion, I get chest pain, followed by fatigue, severe fatigue.”

Although he is struggling, Mr Shepherd hopes that sooner or later he will be better enough to return to work.

‘I really do not know. I just have to wait and see, I have to eat right and live right and hope it can shake things up.”

The SA government said it is examining whether changes should be made to the Emergency Management Act.