Vaccines That Harm

Re “Witnesses for Petitioners Are Often Tough to Find,” Nov. 29: Thank you for finally bringing this issue to light. Vaccine injury claims are all too often overlooked, or the vaccine is too new to make a claim, as in my case.

About 2 1/2 years ago, I was given a routine shot for hepatitis A. Three days later, I showed symptoms of the disease itself, and I was hospitalized three days after that. Since then I’ve had to carefully monitor my health in case of relapse, and I was turned away from my high school’s annual blood drive because I pose the risk of infecting others.

Though rare, injuries suffered from routine vaccinations are serious. My life was affected immensely by my illness, and I can only imagine what Janet Zuhlke and Veronica Spohn must go through every day as they care for their daughters. Hopefully, this article will raise community awareness of a very real problem, and future patients will not have to deal with it.

Emily Bennion

Santa Monica

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So Congress creates a program to compensate victims damaged by vaccinations in order to protect the manufacturers and settle with the victims quickly and easily. Now the government’s representatives are fighting the victims and protecting the manufacturers, and medical experts are being threatened to shut up.

Once again, the people lose out to big business. The loss is not only that of the victims of vaccination injuries, but all of us, as our voices -- even when legislators tried to do the right thing -- are drowned out by the influence of the corporate dollar.

Dorothy Walker

Calabasas