We've heard more than a few horror stories about the various COVID vaccines that began making the rounds during the pandemic. These ranged from people having unusual side effects to people who "suddenly died," though a definitive link to the shots in those cases didn't appear to show up. But most of those tales came from people who took the Pfizer jabs. One young mother of two in Utah had an equally daunting experience, but Brianne Dressen was in the American clinical trials for the AstraZeneca vaccine. She was hit with crippling side effects almost immediately and they continue to this day, making her what she describes as "permanently disabled." And the company has done almost nothing to help her, so she is suing them. (NY Post)
A Utah mother who says she was “permanently disabled” after taking part in the US clinical trial of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine is suing the drug manufacturer because it failed to cough up enough cash to cover her medical expenses.
Brianne Dressen, 42, was “the picture of good health” when she started the British-made vaccine’s clinical trial in 2020 — but ended up developing a severe neurological condition, the lawsuit filed Monday alleges.
“I walked into the clinic fine, and walked out the beginning of a nightmare I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy,” Dressen said, per the court papers.
Mrs. Dressen's story is absolutely frightening. Within hours of getting the first jab, she was experiencing blurred vision, a headache, ringing ears, and vomiting. The weakness she felt in her arms spread to her legs and she developed paresthesia. She was hospitalized multiple times before eventually being diagnosed with post-vaccine neuropathy. (Yes, I had to go look that one up.)
Making matters even worse in a way, Dressen was taking part in a clinical trial that wound being all for nothing. The AstraZeneca jab was never approved for use in the United States. It was approved for use in Europe and was sent to Africa and other places, but many patients reported having trouble as a result. The company has already been hit with more than fifty lawsuits from people who experienced severe side effects either during the trials or general distribution.
I wondered at first whether or not Dressen might be left out in the cold because she voluntarily took part in the trials. That's not the case, however. She signed an agreement with AstraZeneca wherein the company agreed to pay "the costs of medical treatment for research injuries, provided that the costs are reasonable, and you did not cause the injury yourself." A lawyer should have looked over that agreement for her first because it sounds like the company was leaving itself a couple of back doors.
But they did initially agree to pay, so how much did she get? They shockingly only offered her a one-time payment of $1,243.30 for all of her trouble. That's not even a measurable fraction of all of the medical bills she incurred, not to mention lost wages because she didn't recover enough to return to her job as a teacher. How does AstraZeneca justify this sort of treatment? They put out a call for volunteers and this woman showed up and agreed to help. There seems to be no dispute that the injuries she suffered were caused by the vaccine. Many others reported the same effects to one degree or another. It's too much to write off as a coincidence and I believe that any reasonable jury would agree.
I wish Mrs. Dressen the best in persuing this matter, but she's dealing with a company based in another country and sometimes the wheels of justice turn slowly. She reports that some of her symptoms have finally begun to fade a bit, but she's still nowhere near being back to 100%. And this has been going on for years now. AstraZeneca should be ashamed. They should do the right thing without having to be dragged into court over it.
