The judge used the example of AstraZeneca agreeing to pay $125 for time and travel reimbursements to Dressen per study visit during the clinical trial. “AstraZeneca’s theory of immunity would allow it to shirk this and any other promise made to trial participants merely because the promise ultimately relates to the administration or use of a vaccine,” he said.
Dressen, a preschool teacher in Utah, volunteered for the 2020 clinical trial. The consent form she signed said AstraZeneca would “cover the costs of research injuries” and “pay the costs of medical treatment.” After receiving the company’s shot, she suffered from a variety of injuries. U.S. National Institutes of Health doctors diagnosed her with vaccine side effects.