Spin legend Shane Warne passed away in 2022 after suffering a sudden heart attack while on a holiday in Thailand. Years later, his son Jackson has claimed the COVID-19 vaccine played a role in his father’s death, a statement that has sparked renewed attention. However, official autopsy findings at that time confirmed that Warne died of natural causes linked to a heart attack.
Warne had contracted COVID-19 in August 2021, after receiving both doses of the vaccine. A month later, he had spoken about how his condition worsened during the illness, to the extent that he required ventilator support at one stage. After recovery from that phase, he continued his normal travels and activities until his sudden passing in 2022, which shocked the cricketing world.
Jackson Warne has spoken at length about his belief that the COVID-19 vaccine may have played a role in his father’s death, saying he no longer considers the view controversial and suggesting it aggravated underlying health issues. He also reflected on his immediate reaction after receiving the news, admitting he initially blamed the government, COVID, and the vaccine.
“I definitely think it was involved, and I don’t even think saying that is controversial anymore,” he said on 2Worlds Collide podcast.
“Like, with the amount of data that’s come out, even if dad had underlying health issues, I think this brought it straight to the surface, and that’s one thing that I’ve always struggled with. Because my first impression as soon as I hung up the phone, I instantly blamed the government, I instantly blamed COVID and the vaccine. Doing things like the state memorial where it’s funded by Vic gov and it’s at the MCG and there has to be certain due diligence and people in the crowds have to get photos and do all that stuff — I felt really uncomfortable,” Warne said.
Jackson further recalled how close he came to publicly voicing his anger at the state memorial for his father, admitting he almost blamed the government and COVID-19 but held back, saying it would have changed his life in a different direction. He added that his views have remained unchanged over the years, while also acknowledging that the exact cause may never be fully understood despite the autopsy report being available.
“And at the state memorial, I nearly actually said, ‘I blame the government, I blame COVID’, but I didn’t. And it’s probably smart I didn’t. I would probably be in a very different position if I did, but that was how I felt. And so even the last three, four years when it’s come up in conversations, I have not changed my tune. Obviously at the end of the day, we’ll never ever know. The autopsy is there and people can go online and look at it and I know what’s happened to him. But dad at the time, he was healthy, he was happy, he actually looked the best he’d looked in a while,” he added.
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Jackson reflected on his father Shane Warne’s lifestyle and health, acknowledging habits like smoking and drinking but suggesting they were common in his era, while insisting he personally felt his father was in good shape at the time, as he said: “Yes, he smoked and he drank, but how many more people in their eighties and nineties still smoke and drink a lot more than dad Yes, a lot of people were dying of heart attacks before, but I know, and this is how I feel — it might not be true — but dad was OK.”
“Shane Warne might’ve got three or four COVID shots”
Jackson spoke about his father’s COVID vaccinations and the circumstances around them, claiming he was not keen on taking the shots but did so due to work requirements, while also saying he tries not to dwell on the subject as it only deepens his grief and anger, as he said:
“I think he might’ve got three or four (COVID shots). I know he didn’t want to get them, he was forced to get them for work. And he was forced to get them like everybody else. Dad wasn’t the only person; I know when dad passed, he was probably the most famous Australian that people could go, ‘Yep, that’s COVID’. But I try not to think about it too much because all that does is just fest into more anger and anger, and that anger isn’t good for anybody,” he said.
Warne played 145 Tests and 194 ODI matches for Australia, picking 1001 international wickets. 708 scalps came in Test cricket, where he remains the second-highest wicket-taker in history.