A grieving father has blamed anti-vax propaganda videos on YouTube for the death of his pregnant daughter from Covid.
David Exley said there was an urgent need to do more to tackle dangerous misinformation after his daughter Sadie, 24, refused the jab after wrongly being told it 'would kill' her unborn child.
Mr Exley, an electrician from West Yorkshire, told The Mail on Sunday: 'I'm firmly of the belief that people should do what they believe in, whether that is to be vaccinated or unvaccinated.
'But people must make that choice based on facts. They should listen to experts, not base their decisions on posts on Facebook or videos on YouTube.'
The 57-year-old claimed the father of Sadie's unborn son had watched anti-vax videos on YouTube and told her that 'if she had the vaccination she would kill his baby'.
'Funny and loving': Sadie Exley with her daughter Harper
'Sadie had wanted the vaccine, we had discussed it. We were very, very close and open with each other,' he said. 'She said that as soon as she was eligible she would have the jab. But she fell pregnant and kept putting it off.
'Some people she knew didn't believe in the vaccine, which is their right, but they shouldn't have forced their beliefs on somebody else. They told Sadie that if she had the vaccination she would kill the baby. It's only for that reason that she didn't get it.'
Ms Exley, who was also mother to two-year-old Harper, started suffering from migraines and chest pain in October.
Pictured: A still from an anti-vax YouTube video which Ms Exley's father believes is why she did not get vaccinated
She was diagnosed with a blood clot in her lung before catching Covid in late November. Her condition deteriorated and on December 2 she was rushed to hospital having become paralysed on one side.
'When Sadie left in the ambulance I heard her tell the paramedic that she wanted to get the jab,' Mr Exley said.
She was transferred into intensive care at Leeds General Infirmary, where she sent a poignant final text message to her father which read: 'I will see you later love.'
The 'funny and loving' mother died on December 3 after a brain haemorrhage caused by blood clots due to the virus.
Miraculously, doctors were able to save her son, who was delivered by caesarean section at 29 weeks weighing just 2lbs 1oz. Mr Exley said the boy – named Elliot –
