He is 6’2, which makes it an easy mistake to make
A man was prioritised for the coronavirus vaccine because doctors mistakenly thought he was just six centimetres tall.
Liam Thorp is the Political Editor of the Liverpool Echo. But according to his doctor’s notes, he was a man of just six centimetres in height – and a BMI (body mass index) of over 28,000.
In reality, that would make him look even weirder than one of those Spurs dolls.
Understandably, that also put him in a fairly high-risk category in urgent need of a coronavirus vaccine.
Thorp explained the mixup in hilarious detail on Twitter.
So I’m not getting a vaccine next week – was feeling weird about why I’d been selected ahead of others so rang GP to check. Turns out they had my height as 6.2cm rather than 6 ft 2, giving me a BMI of 28,000 😂
— Liam Thorp (@LiamThorpECHO) February 17, 2021
Thorp wrote: “So I’m not getting a vaccine next week – was feeling weird about why I’d been selected ahead of others so rang GP to check. Turns out they had my height as 6.2cm rather than 6 ft 2, giving me a BMI of 28,000.”
I mean I’ve put on a few pounds in lockdown but not that many
— Liam Thorp (@LiamThorpECHO) February 17, 2021
Perhaps the funniest part of the tale is the response from Thorp’s mum. Upon being told of the mistake, she responded “Well, perhaps this is the wake-up call you need”.
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'
— Liam Thorp (@LiamThorpECHO) February 17, 2021
Perhaps the mixup stemmed from poor handwriting, a trait seemingly common among doctors.
Writing in a piece for his employer, Thorp said: “I’m 32 years old with no underlying health conditions, and while I could be described as on the chunky side, I wouldn’t have thought of myself as clinically obese (even after lockdown).”
BMI is a measure of body weight in conjunction with height. A BMI of 26/27 is usually classed as overweight, though there are complications in the data due to the fact muscle has a higher density than fat.
Many professional athletes are considered overweight according to BMI, when often that couldn’t be further from the truth. It has more relevance as a measure of larger population scales. BMI can tell you, for instance, that the Spanish are, on average, leaner than Pacific Island populations.
It’s quite surprising that the scale didn’t spontaneously combust upon seeing someone with a measure of 28,000, though.
