SWEDEN

Healthy fully vaccinated against TBE father of two – died after tick bite
Published 2026-05-10

The 40-year-old police officer and two child father Johan Åwall of Örebro died after suffering from TBE – even though he was fully vaccinated against the tick-borne viral disease. After two and a half months in the intensive care unit, his did not save.

Johan Åwall worked in the police and had taken the vaccine according to recommended intervals as part of the protection in the service. According to the family, he was healthy, trained regularly and lived an active life together with partner Carin and the children Iris and Olle.

The course of the disease began at the end of August 2025 when Johan woke up with severe headaches and fever. The family initially thought it was about a common infection, but the condition deteriorated rapidly during the same day. Johan was confused and found it difficult to talk coherently before he was taken to the emergency room, reports local newspaper Nerikes Allehanda.


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Shortly thereafter, it was found that he suffered a serious brain inflammation caused by TBE virus. Despite intensive care and extensive treatment, severe brain damage arose and Johan never woke up again.

For just over two months, he was cared for in the respirator while the family hoped for improvement. Sambo Carin, brother David and other relatives spent much of the time at his side in the hospital.

“It was absolutely terrible to be thrown between hope and despair. The only thing we could do was wait and give the body time to try to sort this out," Carin told NA.

In the end, it became clear that Johan could no longer breathe without the help of a ventilator due to the brain damage. On November 17, the family said goodbye.

According to the family, doctors have not been able to explain why the vaccine did not provide protection in Johan's case. The TBE vaccine is described as highly safe and deaths among fully vaccinated are uncommon.

Despite the tragedy, the family says their confidence in the vaccine remains and that both Carin and David themselves remain vaccinated against TBE.