A woman who was administered Pandemrix swine flu vaccine and subsequently developed narcolepsy has settled her case against the state today. Narcolepsy is a life-long condition and this case was the first of its kind in this Country. Along with the Minister for Health and the HSE, the other defendants in the case were GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals and the HPRA. The case settled for an undisclosed sum and there was no admission of liability on behalf of any of the defendants.
There are currently approximately 100 cases yet to be dealt with and in the majority of these cases the claimants are children who have developed narcolepsy (most including Cataplexy) arising from the administration of the swine flu vaccine Pandemrix. It is now known that the Pandemrix vaccine was subjected to very limited testing compared with other vaccines. The HSE launched a large scale media campaign encouraging people to take the vaccine but failed to advise the public that the vaccine was largely untested. Damningly the HSE was provided with data from the manufacturers of the vaccine of multiple serious adverse events related to the vaccine yet notwithstanding this the HSE continued the vaccination programme. The brochures circulated by the HSE at the time contained inadequate warnings as to the safety of the vaccine and contained advice which was not consistent with the facts.
It is admirable that this 26 year old woman had the courage and stamina to take this landmark case and pave the way for the other claimants. If you have been affected by any of these events please contact Louise Howard 091 564 973
