Brianne Dressen, a dedicated American mother and former teacher from Utah, is fighting back against pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca after participating in their Covid vaccine trial. Ms. Dressen, who volunteered in the trial to contribute to the fight against the pandemic, now finds herself permanently disabled, struggling with severe neurological conditions, and facing astronomical medical bills that the company has refused to cover.
Ms. Dressen’s ordeal began shortly after receiving the AstraZeneca jab in 2020. She was hospitalized with an intense pins and needles sensation throughout her body. Since then, she’s been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, a debilitating condition causing pain and numbness due to nerve damage, directly linked to the vaccine. Unable to continue her teaching career or care for her young children as she once did, Ms. Dressen’s life has been upended.
Her lawsuit, filed in the US District Court in Utah, claims a breach of contract against AstraZeneca for failing to honor its agreement to cover medical costs for research-related injuries. The consequences of this betrayal have left her not only disabled but also facing financial ruin, with medical and legal expenses reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars. One of her medications alone costs $432,000 a year, reduced to $119,000 by her insurance.
AstraZeneca, a British-based company whose vaccine was never even approved in the US, has offered a paltry $1,200 to Ms. Dressen to limit their liability. Meanwhile, the firm has raked in over $5.8 billion from global sales of the vaccine. Despite acknowledging that in rare cases its vaccine could cause severe side effects, AstraZeneca has remained tight-lipped on ongoing litigation, offering no real support to those harmed by their product.
The dismissal of Ms. Dressen’s suffering by AstraZeneca is a clear indication of the disregard some of these pharmaceutical companies have for individual lives in favor of their profit margins. While AstraZeneca boasts about the millions of lives saved and the role their vaccine played in combating the pandemic, individuals like Brianne Dressen continue to bear the true cost of their pursuit of profit. Her plight is a sobering reminder of the need for accountability and protection for those who place their trust in these pharmaceutical behemoths.