ABC news reporter Eleni Roussos has spoken out about suffering a Covid-19 vaccine injury, describing it as “a living hell”.

The national broadcaster’s Northern Territory presenter said she had been inspired to share her story after former AMA president Kerryn Phelps went public with her own experience.

Roussos wrote on Twitter, “Inspired by @drkerrynphelps today I want to say I too have been in a living hell with pericarditis because of the Covid vaccine. Vaccine injuries are real and serious and I sincerely hope more people will speak up.”

Better late than never, an ABC journalist breaks her silence.

The “conspiracy theorists” were right. https://t.co/JNwgLBnOhv

— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) December 21, 2022

The journalist’s Twitter feed was inundated with people sharing stories of vaccine injuries.

But others criticised Roussos for not speaking out sooner.

“Eleni, while it’s commendable that you’re finally speaking out now is there any reason you didn’t earlier? When people who’d been vaxx injured were being ignored & told it was all in their heads?” wrote one person.

“When others were being vilified & called names for not wanting to be coerced into an experimental treatment they’d done their research on & decided the risk/benefit analysis clearly fell on the risk side? As a reporter are you able to shed light as to why the ABC ignored all this?”

Phelps, who has been a strong proponent of mask mandates and of vaccines, went on national media this week describing how she and her partner had suffered ongoing ill health from the vaccines.

In a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into long Covid, she urged the government to more thoroughly investigate vaccine injuries.

The NSW doctor and former politician also accused health regulators of stifling discussion about vaccine injuries, alleging many doctors were too afraid to speak for fear of being deregistered.

The subject of vaccine injuries has been seen as a taboo subject with people who have tried to talk about it being derided as anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists.

Phelps replied to Roussos tweet, saying: “I hoped my submission to the parliamentary inquiry would spark the conversation we need to have about long covid and vaccine injury. I hope we can find answers leading to recovery for you and others.”