By Miah Stringer
Staff Writer
Liam Thorp, a journalist in England, was mistakenly offered the Covid-19 vaccine after an administrative error listed his height as 6.2 cm instead of 6-foot-2 in his medical records. His minute height listing deemed the man to have a body mass index of 28,000. For reference, a BMI of 40 or more is considered morbidly obese, putting Thorp way above the mark. His impossibly overweight score led him to be prioritized for the Covid vaccine. Liam Thorp said that he was left “really confused” when he learned that he was set to receive his vaccine so soon. For a healthy man, he was scheduled very early compared to the government’s vaccine rollout plan. After Thorp contacted his GP through a phone call, he was informed of the hilarious mix-up. Thorp was amused, and shared his story in a viral Twitter thread. In one of his tweets, he said, “When I told my mum I had been classed in the clinically obese category, she said ‘well perhaps this is the wake-up call you need’”, and even jokes about himself being a “morbidly obese pancake.” Thanks to Thorp checking in with his GP, the NHS Liverpool clinical commissioning group is working to make sure a comical mix-up like this doesn’t happen again.