Covid NSW: Aude Al-Askar, 27, died in southwest Sydney in his home two weeks after diagnosis

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A young man who died in the shower while suffering from Covid was anxious about getting vaccinated because he feared it could have long-term side effects. 

Ady Al-Askar collapsed on Tuesday afternoon and was unable to be revived.

The 27-year-old had been isolating in his Liverpool unit in Sydney’s southwest with his wife, Yasmin, an aged care nurse who first contracted the virus and brought it home from work.

The couple were due to end their 14-day mandatory quarantine period on Wednesday and relatives are now questioning whether Covid contributed to his death. 

Heart conditions reportedly run in the Al-Askar family, and his cousin, Khalid Thijeel, told Daily Mail Australia he believed it was this that cost the man his life, not the virus. 

Mr Thijeel said his cousin, factory worker, had not yet been vaccinated despite government directives for all Sydneysiders – particularly those living in hotspots – to get the jab. 

He said given his youth, Mr Al-Askar didn’t consider getting the jab a priority.

He was also wary of potential long-term effects the newly developed vaccine might have. 

Mr Thijeel stressed his cousin was not an ‘anti vaxxer’, but was hesitant after mixed messaging from the Federal Government which initially told Australians the AstraZeneca jab was not safe for people under the age of 60.

‘He was young, and it’s my understanding he wanted to see what long-term effects there were… he doesn’t have children yet, but would it affect them’,’ he said.

‘He was just waiting to see’.  

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation’s latest advice states that increased transmissibility of the Delta variant outweighs any minor risks associated with the AstraZeneca jab. 

‘In a large outbreak, the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca are greater than the risk of rare side effects for all age groups,’ the advice states.

‘ATAGI reiterates that all adults in greater Sydney should strongly consider the benefits of earlier protection with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca rather than waiting for alternative vaccines.’  

Six Australians have died as a result of developing blood clots after receiving their AstraZeneca jab, out of about 12.3million doses administered. 

Meanwhile 17 people have died as a result of the current Covid outbreak in NSW. 

Pfizer is largely considered the preferable option among certain demographics, but is not as easy to source as the AstraZeneca. 

Mr Al-Askar’s death makes him the youngest victim of the virus in New South Wales to date.    

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejikilian and chief health officer Kerry Chant said his tragic death served as a stark warning that the Delta variant did not age discriminate.

Government officials at a state and federal level are now urging all Sydneysiders to get vaccinated as soon as possible. 

Young people were initially not considered a priority age group under the government rollout. 

But Ms Berejiklian has since warned the Delta variant is spreading rampantly within young communities and repeatedly said that an increasing amount of under-40s are in hospital after contracting the virus. 

‘This disease is lethal and it affects people of all ages,’ Ms Berejiklian said on Wednesday.

‘We can’t stress how important it is to come forward and get vaccinated. If you are vaccinated you are staying out of hospital, staying out of the ICU and helping to reduce the spread of the virus.’

Dr Chant said Mr Al-Askar was being cared for by the local health district but ‘suddenly deteriorated’. 

‘He was being checked daily and he did complain of feeling a little fatigued but the deterioration happened suddenly, is my understanding. We are aware that with Covid you can get sudden deaths.’ 

But Mr Thijeel said his cousin was feeling ’90 per cent fine’ even as recently as Tuesday morning.

He did not develop any symptoms until about a week after his diagnosis.  

‘He woke up yesterday, he was feeling good, he had breakfast, called his family and then he had a shower about 4pm and that was it,’ Mr Thijeel said. 

‘He only got married about 6 weeks ago… [he was] just starting his life.’ 

Mr Al-Askar’s wife, who was quarantining with him inside their unit, found him unconscious in the shower and called an ambulance.

She was rushed to hospital in shock. She, too, had minor symptoms.

‘He had no coughing, nothing,’ Mr Thijeel said.   

Paramedics who responded to the emergency reportedly confirmed that he suffered heart failure, whereas the hospital specified that Covid was a contributing factor in his death.   

Friends have expressed their shock and horror at learning of Mr Al-Askar’s death.

One woman, who went to weekend school with Mr Al-Askar to learn Arabic together, said he was one of the ‘friendliest boys’ she knew who had ‘kindness in his heart for everyone’. 

She was told that ‘his heart couldn’t handle the infection’. 

New South Wales recorded another 233 cases of Covid overnight.

Forty-seven of the new cases were infectious in the community. The source of 133 infections is still under investigation.  

An unvaccinated woman in her 80s from Sydney’s inner-west also died at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on Tuesday, taking the death toll from the city’s latest outbreak of the highly-contagious Delta strain to 17.