'We exist': Some Americans have life-changing injuries from COVID vaccine (2023)

HUNT VALLEY, Maryland (TND) —Before the US approved any COVID-19 vaccine for the general public, Brianne Dressen was so confident in its success that she enrolled in a clinical trial in the US. On November 4, 2020, she received her first dose of AstraZeneca.

On her way home from the clinic, an hour after receiving the injection, she felt a tingling sensation in her arm. That night, she developed blurred and double vision and noticed that the sound was distorted, as if his ears were covered with shells. When she woke up the next morning, her left leg was drooping and weak, causing her to trip on the left side of the door. She went to work at her preschool and found herself unable to function, with extreme sensitivity to light and sound.

“At the end of class that day, I parked the kids in front of the TV with a little educational show and hid in a corner. I turned off the light in the classroom. I was just trying to keep it under wraps and dark until the parents had their kids,” she said.

Dressen visited the vaccine trials clinic wearing the darkest sunglasses she could find and a pair of earplugs covered with noise-cancelling earmuffs. They told him to seek evaluation for multiple sclerosis or transverse myelitis. She underwent several tests in the ER and was sent home with no diagnosis.

Within the first week after the injection, she experienced autonomic dysfunction, including gastrointestinal issues and an irregular heart rhythm, which again landed her in the ER. The tingling or numbness she felt in her arm eventually spread to her other arm, legs and feet, a burning sensation that felt like sandpaper rubbing against her skin over and over again.

Two weeks after the injection, Dressen lost control of her legs and bladder. The hospital gave him medication for what could have been a silent migraine; she had no headache symptoms. Medical records later show the diagnosis "Vaccine [b] Anxiety."

After visiting the hospital, Dressen's condition developed into what she describes as "internal vibrations" or "an electrical sensation that runs through her body all the time."

"You know the vibrating chairs you sit in at the mall? It feels like that all the time. And it doesn't matter if you're awake or trying to sleep," he said. "It's literal torture, 24/7. Continuously. No respite.

A cascade of symptoms forced her to isolate herself in her room for a total of almost four months after the shot, in darkness and silence. The sound of her 7-year-old daughter's voice or the rustle of her husband's pants were too painful for her ears. Her 9-year-old son's hand hurt too much to touch. Her teeth were too sensitive for the toothbrush. She had trouble eating and she lost 20 pounds in six weeks.

“I literally spent months overwhelmed by pain and vibrations to the point where all I could do to survive was remember to breathe in and out… every day… just breathe,” Dressen wrote in an email.

Over time, her legs slowly returned and she was able to "re-educate" her bladder and bowels. Little by little she was getting used to touch, sound and light. By the end of February, her sensitivity to her sounds had diminished and she no longer needed to be isolated.

But many other symptoms persisted. In June, Dressen visited the National Institutes of Health to "study persistent neurological symptoms after SARS-CoV2 vaccination," according to medical notes from the visit. She was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a condition that causes dizziness and palpitations when standing up; "post-vaccination neuropathy," indicating nerve damage or dysfunction; mild reduction of pinprick sensation in both hands and loss of short-term memory.

The NIH News Media branch did not respond to a TND request for comment on Dressen's diagnoses. The communications team at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke told TND that the doctor who worked with Dressen was not allowed to comment on any patient's medical information.

Dressen described her experience during the live broadcast.round tablean event in Washington last month hosted by US Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. She was joined by several others who said they had suffered life-changing injuries as a result of the COVID vaccines.

Johnson and aides stress that they are not against vaccines, but are seeking treatment for vaccine injuries and greater transparency from public health officials.

"If they had been doing their job," Johnson said, referring to the public health agency, "if they had been honest and transparent with the American public, we wouldn't be here today."

"HOW DO I LIVE WITH YOU?"

Another participant on the vaccine panel, Shaun Barcavage, is a 52-year-old research nurse at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. He is now on short-term disability after his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

“I was a lively, funny, compassionate and wholesome person. No medical conditions. No drugs. Never a reaction to the vaccine,” she said.

On December 29, within minutes of receiving his first injection, Barcavage experienced paresthesia in his right arm. Within hours or days, the numbness and tingling spread to the right side of my face, eye, and ear.

His neuropathy specialist wrote that he would be comfortable if Barcavage gave him a second injection if his symptoms cleared up, which they did after ten days. She received her second dose on January 19.

Against my better judgment, I went back and lined up," Barcavage said. "Two doses literally made me dizzy.

Within four days, Barcavage developed "debilitating tinnitus", stating that he could not hear television, listen to music, read a book or understand what other people were saying. The tingling sensation returned along with a variety of other symptoms: numbness, throat tightness, abnormally rapid heart rate, fluctuating blood pressure, severe right-sided headaches, eye irritation and mental confusion, muscle cramps, and tremors.

"I remember that February, curled up in a fetal position on the bathroom floor, asking myself: 'How am I going to live with this? "- he said. "I thought my life was over."

Barcavage visited various doctors in an attempt to find answers.

On January 30, she visited the emergency department and said that she had had an allergic reaction to the vaccine. He says they sent him home with ibuprofen.

She then visited an otolaryngologist who noted in her medical records that Barcavage "had a COVID-19 vaccine about a week before she got sick." According to Barcavage, the doctor prescribed Xanax and said the tinnitus could have occurred by chance.

"I thought, 'Are you crazy?' Barcavage said. "Hearing lossItachycardiaIblood pressureIface tinglingItightness in the throatIheadacheIeclipse cerebralIreactivation of inflammation in the abdomen, how much coincidence?"

A media representative told The National Desk that the doctor could not comment on Barcavage's health.

Towards the end of the summer, Barcavage's condition worsened further.

In August, I literally exploded with generalized neuropathies of the body,” he said. “Imagine waking up in the middle of the night with itchy hands and feet, burning in the soles of your feet, tingling all over your body, as if you had fallen into a nettle.

Barcavage's neurologist diagnosed her with "orthostatic intolerance," meaning she couldn't stand on her feet for more than five minutes without her heart rate suddenly increasing, along with fainting and nausea. The neurologist also diagnosed him with "suspected small fiber autonomic neuropathy due to an autoimmune reaction to the vaccine."

The autonomic dysfunction also caused adrenaline spikes that prevented her from sleeping. He has tried five different sleeping pills and says there have been times when he hasn't slept for days.

"My autonomic nervous system was in a deplorable state," he said. "Every time my body wanted to go into calm mode, it would spew cortisol throughout my body, burning my muscles and stomach."

Barcavage says he felt like he was alone.

"I was mishandled," he said. "And that's the most powerful thing it's ever taught me: that you're flying by yourself, with no help."

As a researcher, Barcavage says he found it "interesting" that he was trying to find people who would take an interest in his symptoms. He also points out that many medications have side effects.

“There are side effects that are known during the study; then there are side effects that are recognized later when it is introduced to the general population. As a scientist, everyone knows that," he said. "So to deny that any of these vaccines can have side effects is illogical. It's not even scientific because it's not just possible; it's likely."

Even now, Barcavage describes himself as "pro-vaccine."

"Politics had no bearing on my being here today," he told the panel. “I am an advocate of patience, of science, and have been a strong advocate of vaccination my whole life, often fighting with family members to get vaccinated.”

Barcavage is being treated with IVIG, a combination antibody used to treat a variety of conditions, including autoimmune disorders. To this day, she describes a "continuous dull ache" in her brain, a feeling of spatial imbalance, heart problems, numbness on the right side of her face, and a whistling sound in her right ear. She doesn't know when she will be able to go back to work.

“This experience ruined my life,” he told the panel in a strangled voice. “24/7 tinnitus has robbed me of every moment of peace and quiet. The impact on my medical career, which I love and have worked so hard for, is immeasurable.”

"I LOST ALMOST AN ENTIRE YEAR OF MY LIFE"

Cody Flint, 34, still doesn't know how he managed to land the plane after nearly passing out midair while spraying crops.

Flint, an ag pilot, husband, and father of two, says he was healthy his entire life before receiving the Pfizer vaccine and had no medical conditions. Four physical exams conducted in the year before the incident, including an exam two weeks before the shooting, show that he was healthy, with no head injuries, hearing loss, dizziness, or pain in his ears or eyes.

Flint received his first dose of the vaccine on February 1. He says that within 30 minutes he developed an "intense, throbbing headache" followed by a "burning sensation" at the back of his neck. He took ibuprofen, thinking the symptoms might go away.

Two full days after her vaccination, she was flying her plane when she began to develop tunnel vision and felt her headache worsen. He says that after about two hours of flight, she took her plane to turn around and felt "extreme pressure" in her ears. He says that he immediately "almost passed out, was dizzy, disoriented, nauseated and shaking uncontrollably."

And then boom, in a second I'm hanging off the seat. I feel like I'm falling out of a plane. hyperventilate I feel sick. I'm drowning. I feel like I'm going to pass out before I can get the plane down.” He said. “By the grace of God, I was able to land my plane without incident, although I don't remember doing so.

Flint visited his longtime doctor, who diagnosed panic attacks and severe vertigo, though Flint says he's never had a history of this. His doctor prescribed Xanax and vertigo medication, saying that he should be completely better in a few days.

Instead, Flint's condition continued to deteriorate.

“After two days I felt completely worse. I couldn't walk without holding onto things," Flint said.

He visited the Ear & Balance Institute in Covington, Louisiana, where tests and a spinal tap confirmed high levels of intracranial pressure. This pressure was transferred to her ears, causing perilymphatic fistulas that required two surgeries.

Ear, Nose, Throat and Neurotologist at the Ear & Balance Institute, Gerard Gianoli, described Flint's condition in an interview with The National Desk.

If the pressure gets high enough, it can perforate one of the round or oval windows of the middle or inner ear," Gianoli said. "And when that happens, the fluid can move around and cause dizziness. This is one of the causes of this condition. called "perilymphatic fistula".

Gianoli says he is "extremely certain" that Flint's condition was caused by increased pressure on his head after the vaccination.

“If you look at the time sequence, he got the vaccine an hour before he developed symptoms. This really implies that the vaccine is the cause,” she said.

Gianoli says he wouldn't recommend Flint's second shot.

"Generally, in medicine, if someone gets some kind of pharmacological intervention and they have an adverse reaction, they don't do it again," he said. "I mean, it's just primary medical school 101."

Gianoli says it's not unusual for a patient with an inner ear problem to be misdiagnosed as a mental disorder. This is because a reflex from the inner ear involves the sympathetic nervous system, which can cause nausea, cold sweats, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and adrenal eruptions, leading to anxiety and panic.

“So technically, if someone gets dizzy and then has a panic attack, it's not a panic attack; it's part of the vertigo spell," Gianoli said. "The problem is that many doctors don't know how to identify and diagnose vertigo. They see a panic attack and that's all they see."

While he doesn't recommend a second shot for Flint, Gianoli says he encouraged others to get vaccinated.

I am not anti-vaccination. Shit, I vaccinated my parents," Gianoli said. "But I think any medical intervention, whether it's vaccination, surgery or whatever, is based on a risk-benefit analysis.

Another doctor told Flint that the Federal Aviation Administration was unlikely to allow him to return to work as a pilot until he made a full recovery.

"I missed almost an entire year of my life and part of my children's lives," Flint said. “The days of playing baseball, playing in the yard, and picking up my kids to hold them have been replaced by being trapped in a sick body, doctor visits, invasive procedures, and more questions than answers. I don't know if I'll ever be able to fly again."

Flint did not have health insurance at the time of the incident. He says he paid about $60,000 out of his own pocket between surgeries and doctor visits.

"I used my children's college money for the first surgery, I borrowed money from the bank for the second surgery," he said. “This vaccine took away the career and the future that I worked so hard for.”

Flint says he did what he could to help end the pandemic, but the solution changed his life.

“My family masked up, stayed home, and avoided COVID for over a year,” he said. “We did what was asked of us to be part of the solution. This solution took everything.”

"MY CAREER...PROBABLY OVER"

Joel Wallskog is a 51-year-old orthopedic surgeon who, like Barcavage, was one of the first to receive the injection.

Moderna received her first dose of the vaccine on December 30, 2020. About a week later, she began experiencing numbness or "tingling" in her feet, as well as a "strong electrical shock sensation" in her spine. Three or four days later, she was sitting in the doctor's office at work talking to a patient when she discovered that she couldn't stand up.

"I got up on my hands and then fell back quickly," he said.

A few days later, a neurologist diagnosed her with transverse myelitis, or inflammation of the spinal cord. Records from a July medical visit record "idiopathic transverse myelitis that occurred shortly after his Moderna COVID-19 vaccine."

Wallskog's employer, Advocate Aurora Health, approved a sick leave that allowed him to forgo the second shot. His neurologist listed "transverse myelitis after the first dose" as the reason for requesting release. The neurologist advised him to take two or three months off work. Instead, she returned after two weeks and began working for two more days.

After the second day, I felt terrible," she said. She “she was numb from her belly button to her feet. She could barely walk. And I haven't worked since. I just don't feel safe working as an orthopedic surgeon.

AccordingLos New York Times, the Oxford-AstraZeneca trial was halted twice due to suspected cases of transverse myelitis. The company later determined that one of the patient's symptoms was not related to the vaccine.

Wallskog submitted a report to the federal vaccine adverse event reporting system (VAERS) on January 19 detailing his condition. He hoped public health officials would contact him and be "concerned" by his diagnosis. After weeks of no communication, he said that he had contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a February 10 email, a CDC official wrote to Wallskog that "transverse myelitis is an adverse event of particular concern to CDC" and offered to consult to discuss his clinical data. The consultation would look at the "likelihood" that the diagnosis was related to the vaccination and would include recommendations on whether he should receive a second dose of the vaccine. Wallskog dismissed the query, writing that the reported time of 4 to 6 weeks was too long and that he had already decided not to have a second injection.

Wallskog sent an adverse event report to Moderna dated February 5. On April 2, he received a request for additional information, but no solutions were offered.

One word describes how I felt after the first few months of being diagnosed: abandoned," he said.

At least Wallskog thought his medical condition would be covered by workers' compensation. But on November 22, eleven months after the vaccination, he received a letter rejecting his claim.

"So now I am responsible for all the health care bills that I have incurred from the beginning," he said.

Wallskog continues to battle weakness, balance issues, and fatigue. He was unable to return to the sports activities he enjoyed, such as hiking, wake surfing, and water skiing. For exercise, he uses a recumbent bike, leaning back to prevent neurogenic pain, along with balance exercises. If he overloads himself with physical activity, he'll end up in recovery mode on the couch all day.

But in addition to being physically active, Wallskog says he misses his job.

"My life changed dramatically after this adverse reaction," he said. "My 19-year career, in which I coached for almost 14 years, is probably over."

"IN A CONSTANT STATE OF EXTREME FAITH"

Another panelist, Suzanna Newell, also misses physical activity. The former long-distance triathlete and cyclist now requires the help of a walker or cane — or a wheelchair for longer distances — after receiving her second injection from Pfizer on April 13.

In that moment, my whole life changed," he told the panel.

Newell, 49, says he had no known medical conditions, describing his previous lifestyle as "very energetic, very driven."

“I loved keeping my body and mind strong and disciplined,” she said.

Newell says he developed a rash on his forehead after the vaccine, mental confusion, constant loud ringing in his ears, intermittent dizziness, blurred vision, abnormal dilation of the right pupil, extreme burning pain in his right leg, tingling in his foot , muscle spasms and spasms, internal vibrations and strong body pains. She says that "there is no relief for joint pain except with acupuncture."

He describes himself as a "frequent person" at medical offices, including neurologist, rheumatologist, cardiologist, gynecologist, ophthalmologist, and physical therapist, among others.

His rheumatologist diagnosed him with sciatica, or nerve pain in his right leg, as well as "possible" Sjögren's syndrome, which often includes dry eyes and a dry mouth. She was also diagnosed with "a possible autoimmune disease related to COVID or the COVID vaccine." She does not know that she has contracted the virus, and a recent test for antibodies against the nucleocapsid was negative.

Ophthalmologist Newell's notes show that "the patient received a second injection of Pfizer and has since had unexplained pain in his lower legs and decreased sensation to pinpricks in his feet." He also points to a possible diagnosis of small fiber neuropathy.

Newell also describes the sudden onset of hives, as well as white patches, especially around the elbow, and itching.

I don't even mention it to my doctor because it doesn't hurt. And I have so many other things that are higher on my list of aches and pains and things.

She said she had tinnitus before the injection, but it is now "much louder" than before.

Newell says that most of his symptoms have only gotten worse in the last six months. She spent Thanksgiving in the hospital after experiencing "extreme chest pains." She says doctors "don't know" that her post-vaccination condition is possible, and says she has to fight to avoid being labeled "anxious."

"When I go to the emergency room, I always try to stay calm," he said. "If I appear restless, I will be discarded."

After being vaccinated, Newell says she feels like she is 40 years old.

“Since my injury, I have very little motivation and energy. And I am in a constant state of extreme fatigue,” she said. “I was not afraid of the injection when they gave it to me. part of my country But where is my country for me now, now that I'm wounded?

"SAFE AND EFFECTIVE"

Researchers at the NIH and the Food and Drug Administration have been studying neurological responses to COVID-19 vaccines for the past year. This stems in part from an email dialogue between FDA Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock and Danice Hertz, a retired gastroenterologist from Santa Monica, California, who told Woodcock about her "severe neurological reaction" to the vaccine. against COVID-19.

In a September email exchange, Hertz detailed some of his symptoms, including "tremors, burning numbness in face and extremities, spasms, dizziness, tinnitus, tight pressure around chest, double vision, imbalance." Woodcock responded that he was "working on the evaluation of neurological side effects of COVID 19 vaccines." Hertz contacted him in November for an update on the investigation. Woodcock responded: “I know that you and others are looking for guidance to heal what you are experiencing. I read everything they sent me and also contacted the researchers and patients. There is still not a lot of certainty about what causes the symptoms that people experience.”

Months earlier, NIH neuroimmunology researcher Farinaz Safavi also wrote to Hertz in an email exchange in March: “We know for sure that immune-mediated neurological complications can occur after vaccination and infection. COVID is also no exception,” Safavi wrote. "What kind of immune response leads to the neurological complications of COVID vaccines, we are all trying to understand."

Woodcock and Safavi did not respond to a National Desk request for further comment on their investigation. An FDA representative responded that "COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring systems have not identified additional safety signals regarding serious neurological effects after vaccination with COVID-19." The representative identified several safety concerns, including an increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome and thrombocytopenia syndrome with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, myocarditis and pericarditis with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and anaphylactic shock and syncope (syncope) with each of the approved COVID vaccines. vaccines. Almost all of them are listed in the CDC.website.

When asked for an update in December, the FDA again referred to the website.

Public health agencies generally maintain that vaccines against COVID-19 are safe and effective and that the benefits of getting vaccinatedfar exceedany risk

The National Office provided the FDA with VAERS reports related to each of the five individuals named in the story and asked if the FDA had attempted to verify their adverse events. The agency responded that it could not confirm or share any personal information, adding that "the agency, along with the CDC, is actively involved in monitoring the safety of these vaccines."

The CDC did not respond to a request for comment. The agency speaks for itself.websitethat COVID vaccines are "safe and effective," adding that side effects such as fatigue, headache or chills "should go away within a few days." The agency says that serious allergic reactions and complications are rare.

More than 241 million Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, data showsCenters for Disease Control and Prevention. VAERS has received a total of more than 691,000 reports of adverse events related to COVID-19 vaccines since the first injections. This includes more than 44,000 reports of hospitalizations and more than 9,000 reports of deaths. CDC notes on thiswebsitethat "reporting VAERS does not mean that the vaccine caused an adverse event," but the system allows the CDC and FDA to "investigate further and take action" if there is a problem. Anyone can submit reports to VAERS, and the reports "may contain incomplete, inaccurate, incidental or unverifiable information," according toCenters for Disease Control and Prevention.

Vaccine companies cannot be sued for injuries. Instead, claimants may receive compensation from the government, which may behard to get. Vaccine injury lawyer Aaron Siri, who also spoke at the Washington roundtable, says it wasn't until after the COVID-19 vaccine that "calls, emails, and phone calls from his company came to an avalanche of presentations".

“If we were able to sue the drug companies for all of these injuries, it would be humanly impossible for my company or I think the collective efforts of all the attorneys across the country handling vaccine injury cases,” he said.

Moderna and AstraZeneca did not respond to a request for comment on Wallskog and Dressen's side effects.

Pfizer told The National Desk that it did not comment on specific cases, but said that the safety and effectiveness of its vaccine "are well established."

“We take adverse events potentially related to our COVID-19 vaccine very seriously,” the company wrote in an email. “To date, more than 2 billion of our COVID-19 vaccines have been delivered around the world. It should be noted that, unfortunately, serious adverse events that are not related to the vaccine are likely to occur at rates similar to those in the general population."

“THIS SUCKED US VERY QUICKLY”

Dressen says his insurance covered the vast majority of the $300,000 in medical expenses he incurred as a result of the injury. But the remaining bills, added to the loss of income and additional child care, forced his family to refinance the house. "She got us down pretty fast," she said.

In addition to the above expenses, Dressen now receives IVIG infusions every two weeks, treatments that she says have "drastically" improved her condition and helped calm her immune system. Each treatment costs more than $3,500 and she may need to continue for a year or two.

AstraZeneca has agreed to cover the cost of research-related injuries under the contract signed by Dressen as a participant in the vaccine trials. Dressen says he received $590 in July and months went by with no further information from the vaccine research firm Velocity Clinical Research. The national office contacted Velocity in mid-December, and shortly thereafter, the company emailed Dressen requesting a copy of his medical expenses and forwarding it to AstraZeneca. A Velocity representative told The National Desk in an email that the company "will work closely with them on any future requests."

AstraZeneca did not respond to the National Desk's request for comment on the payment.

Expenses aside, Dressen says the federal government's lack of public recognition of neurological reactions like hers has made it "impossible" for some people to receive proper medical care.

We need recognition from the CDC," he said. "A very simple action would change everything for the sick and suffering.

Dressen emphasizes that he is not against vaccination. She points out that her husband was vaccinated months after her reaction and he did sopromotedinjection for others, even considering the side effects of his wife.

"CDC, FDA, NIH -- we really do exist," Dressen said during a panel in November. “Your system is broken and you know it. You are not caring for those who suffer from serious side effects. Stop saying publicly that you are. Your refusal to act means there will be more like us."

Dressen says that unlike people who have contracted COVID-19, people who have suffered vaccine injuries often have a hard time getting help.

"The government will not help you. The pharmaceutical companies will not help you. Your medical teams will have no idea what to do with you. You will be alone financially," he said. "You will be completely alone."