An American woman who claims she was “permanently disabled” after taking part in the US clinical trial of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine is suing the drug maker because they failed to provide her with medical care for her side effects. According to the Telegraph, Brianne Dressen, 42, filed the lawsuit against AstraZeneca in Utah, in which she claims that she developed a severe neurological condition after taking part in a vaccine trial in 2020. In the court filing, the former teacher said that she developed side effects just hours after being injected with the vaccine.
Ms Dressen’s lawsuit is thought to be the first of its kind in the United States, where the AstraZeneca vaccine was tested in clinical trials but never approved for use, the Telegraph reported. In the court papers, the 42-year-old claimed she signed an agreement with the British drugmaker that promised it would “pay the costs of medical treatment for research injuries, provided that the costs are reasonable, and you did not cause the injury yourself”.
However, Ms Dressen said when she experienced a severe sensation of pins and needles across her body shortly after she received the jab in November 2020, AstraZeneca did not cover the cost of her medical care. Speaking to the outlet, she stated that she had been left unable to work after being diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy – a condition that causes numbness and pain due to damaged nerves. Her condition was classified as “post-vaccine neuropathy” because of its link to the jab, the outlet reported.