Brianne Dressen signed up for a clinical trial for AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine in 2020 in a bid to help the pharmaceutical giant develop a vaccine that would end the pandemic.
She was among the first group of Americans to receive the then-experimental Covid jab and said she felt like she was “doing my part” and thought it would be safe.
But Dressen would never get her second dose again, suffering such a severe reaction an hour after her first shot that she says she is now almost completely disabled and spent months contemplating suicide just to “escape” the pain.
And while the physical pain is unbearable (with her body vibrating daily as if she were being electrocuted, she said), many friends and family have now ostracized her as an anti-vaxxer. Due to the pain, she also has difficulty caring for her two children, ages 10 and 12.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, the 43-year-old said: “Pain is something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.” This is the first thing I feel when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I feel when I go to sleep at night.
‘My body feels like it’s being electrocuted all the time, like this sharp, jarring electrical sensation that moves throughout my body, from head to toe, fingers, you know.
“There is no peace, no rest, no respite, the only time I have a break is when I take a lot of medication that allows me to sleep for a few hours, but I know that when I do this I am borrowing time.” of my future.’
In 2021, scientists at the National Institutes of Health diagnosed Ms. Dressen with post-vaccine neuropathy, an extremely rare condition that occurs when a patient experiences tingling, numbness and weakness in the body after vaccination.
Brianne Dressen, 42, is suing AstraZeneca after taking part in the Covid vaccine trial. She said her vaccine left her “permanently disabled.”
Dressen is suing for breach of contract, saying the company has not covered his medical bills incurred after suffering a severe neurological reaction to the vaccine.
It can happen because the proteins on the surface of some viruses are similar to those on nerve cells, causing the immune system to fail and begin attacking the nervous system.
Dressen, of Utah, was bedridden for months after developing the complication due to pain and found herself unable to use her legs.
Now, with the help of medication, he can move again, but he is still in constant pain and can’t feel anything in his legs.
Ms. Dressen says she is not anti-vaccine and says she was actually very much in the “mainstream mindset” regarding vaccines, before her reaction.
She helped get masks for the local hospital and heard from two other friends who also participated in clinical trials and had no problems.
As part of the AstraZeneca trial, Dressen said she signed a consent form that said the pharmaceutical giant would support her financially if she suffered a serious side effect from the vaccine.
DailyMail.com has not reviewed this consent form and cannot confirm Ms Dressen’s claims.
But Dressen says the company has only sent him $590 to date, which pales in comparison to the $400,000 he says he must spend annually on his medications.
In May, he sued AstraZeneca for breach of contract and the case is now moving forward in Utah courts.
Dressen, pictured above, said she had become a shadow of her former self, unable to work, care for her children as she used to or even drive more than a few blocks.
Mrs Dressen is pictured above with her two children.
It is estimated that Covid vaccines have prevented more than 3.2 million deaths and 18.5 million hospital admissions in the United States alone, according to estimates.
More than 270 million people in the United States have received the Covid vaccine and more than 677 million doses have been administered.
But the AstraZeneca shot was never approved in the United States because of concerns that the vaccine causes blood clots in rare cases. However, it was approved in Europe.
Since then, thousands of people have said that they believe the Covid vaccines have left them with serious injuries that have changed their lives forever.
The Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), which was created by the US government to help those who say they have suffered a vaccine injury, has received more than 14,000 applications from people who say they have suffered an injury by vaccine.
And injuries resulting from vaccines are also taking a mental toll. The UK’s CV Family, which represents people who believe they were injured by Covid vaccines, found in a survey that 73 percent of its members had considered suicide due to their injury.
Many of those who say they have suffered vaccine injuries also reveal how their friends and family have rejected them because of the stigma attached to talking about their injuries.
Ms Dressen is pictured above in hospital after her reaction to the vaccine.
Ms. Dressen’s battle began an hour after receiving the vaccine on November 4, 2020. She suffered a tingling, tingling sensation in the arm that received the shot.
It spread throughout her body and she was rushed to the emergency room four times in the following months seeking treatment. However, doctors were unsure what to do because the vaccine was still being tested.
It was at that moment that he revealed that he was losing the will to live and turned to suicidal thoughts as a way to ease the pain.
She said: ‘It wasn’t like a small moment when I wanted to end my life, it was several months.
“It wasn’t like I was walking around the house saying, ‘I’m going to die,’ but I was totally silent and unable to move and just fantasizing about an escape.
“It’s not really that people with these vaccine injuries want to die, we just need a break.”
AstraZeneca has not accepted any responsibility for the injuries suffered by Ms Dressen.
After a recent hearing into her case, Ms. Dressen said she had learned “everything I needed to know about this company.”
Ms. Dressen is pictured above at a hearing where she explained her experience to officials.
She said: ‘There is no interest in helping me.
‘They are going to fight this every step of the way and… they called my lawyers and said they would appeal the initial decision.
‘My medications cost between $180,000 and $400,000 a year, we had to remortgage our house, I can no longer work, a lot of income has been replaced by a mountain of medical bills; It has been a dramatic change in our quality of life. .’
An AstraZeneca spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
Dressen spoke to DailyMail.com ahead of the release of his book on November 26, titled: ‘Is it worth trying?: Secrets from the clinical trial participant who inspired a global movement.’
All proceeds from sales of the book will be donated to React19 and UKCVFamily.