A British animal lover and vegan has died of COVID-19 in hospital after he had refused the vaccine because of his beliefs that compelled him to turn down the jab for animal rights reasons.
Glynn Steel, 54, became ill with the virus and was taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital in the UK. He spent two weeks in intensive care before dying in November.
In that time, he reportedly declared to nurses that he could have the jab.
Glynn’s wife Emma has since urged people to get the vaccine and launched a fundraising page for a memorial. She has said that in the hospital, her husband had expressed regret at not getting the vaccine.
She described him as “the most gentle soul.” The pair had plans to retire and travel together.
On Tuesday 16th November 2021, we heartbreakingly lost our husband, uncle, son, brother, and brother-in-law, Glynn, to the terrible virus that is COVID-19. After falling ill very quickly, Glynn, was placed in intensive care, and then an induced coma. Within just a week he slipped away. Glynn was the most gentle soul, he loved travelling with his wife Emma, and animals were his world. Please help us to raise some money towards his funeral – we will miss him so much, and love him forever.
Steel and his wife cared for six rescue cats in their Worcestershire home and brought back a dog from a vacation in Sri Lanka.
The Pfizer/BioNTech jab caused controversy for this last year, and the debate is ongoing.
Steel is not alone in the vegan community for choosing against getting vaccinated as it is tested on animals.
Amid this, several vegan doctors have urged fellow vegans to get jabbed. Additionally, The Vegan Society released a statement of support.
It read: “It has never been more important for us to talk about the definition of veganism in the context of medications, including vaccines.
“The definition of veganism recognizes that it is not always possible or practicable to avoid animal use, which is particularly relevant to medical situations.
“…As all vaccines currently are tested on animals, at this stage it is impossible to have a vaccine that has been created without animal use.”
Advances have been made in the plant-based vaccine space – though they are still produced using animal testing.
