AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine. Representative image.
Credit: Reuters Photo
A lawsuit has been filed against pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca by an American woman who claims to have been 'permanently disabled' after she took the company's Covid vaccine during its trial, The Telegraph reported.
42-year-old Brianne Dressen has claimed that she developed a neurological condition after partaking in the vaccine trial in 2020.
Dressen is now suing the company for a 'breach of contract' as she has said that the company 'failed to provide' her with medical care post-trial. This lawsuit becomes the first the company has to battle in the US.
Dressen filed the suit on Sunday. In her papers, she wrote that she was promised that the company would 'bear the expenses for research injuries, provided that the costs are reasonable, and she did not cause the injury herself', but when she started to experience severe sensations of needle pricks throughout her body shortly after her jab, her costs were not covered, the publication reported.
She has been diagnosed with 'post-vaccine neuropathy', wherein a person can develop symptoms like numbness, tingling sensations, pain or muscle weakness. It is caused by an immune response that is triggered after vaccination and in most cases is mild and temporary, and also curable with physical therapy.
Dressen had to get admitted in hospitals multiple times after her jab, costing her thousands of dollars.
"This thing took me out of my job – I’m still permanently disabled,” she said, adding, “I still have that horrific nightmare of the pins and needles sensation coursing through my body, head to toe, 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
Dressen has two kids, aged nine and 11, who she says have faced the worst impact of her illness.
“They don’t remember who I was before, already, It really sucks. The worst part, the biggest punishment of all of this, is the impact on my kids", she told the publication.
She has sued the company for her medical expenses, along with additional damages for emotional distress, lost income, transportation and legal fees.
The British-made vaccine was never approved for use in US. In the UK, over 50 people have filed lawsuits against the company, the report noted.
AstraZeneca in a recent trial admitted that its vaccine can in rare cases have the Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome side effect.
Here, a person can suffer blood clots and also have a low platelet count.
Soon after this admission came to light, AstraZeneca announced it was withdrawing its Covid vaccine globally.