Amanda Samuels v. HHS - Tdap, multiple sclerosis; acute disseminated encephalomyelitis; clinically isolated syndrome (2020)

Amanda Samuels filed a petition alleging that the Tdap vaccine she received on April 23, 2014, caused her to suffer acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) that later evolved into multiple sclerosis (MS). She experienced symptoms of blurry vision and dizziness within 24-48 hours of vaccination, which were initially diagnosed as likely ocular migraine or clinically isolated syndrome (CIS).

Over the next several years, her condition evolved, and in 2019, she was diagnosed with MS. Petitioner's expert, Dr.

Steinman, opined that the Tdap vaccine caused an immune response leading to ADEM and subsequently MS. Respondent's expert, Dr.

Gelfand, argued that the medical record did not support a causal link between the Tdap vaccine and MS, and that CIS was the best diagnostic classification for her initial symptoms. The court found that Petitioner did not preponderantly establish that the Tdap vaccine could cause MS, nor that the temporal relationship was medically acceptable.

The court denied entitlement, concluding that the evidence did not support a vaccine-caused chronic disease process leading to MS, and that her initial symptoms were more consistent with CIS, with a possibility of predating the vaccination. The case was denied on the merits.