Rosa Monzon v. HHS - Tdap, rheumatoid arthritis (2021)

Rosa Monzon, a 55-year-old woman, received a Tdap vaccine on April 12, 2016. She filed a petition alleging the vaccine caused her to develop polymyalgia rheumatica, which was later changed to rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Ms. Monzon experienced symptoms of fatigue, neck pain, and joint pain starting approximately two days after vaccination.

Her treating physicians noted these symptoms and ordered tests, including an anti-CCP antibody test, which is highly associated with RA. Initially, her condition was diagnosed as polymyalgia rheumatica, but it was later revised to RA based on the antibody test results and some inflammatory markers.

However, the court found that the evidence preponderated in favor of a diagnosis of preclinical RA, not classic RA. The court noted that Ms.

Monzon never developed classic RA symptoms such as joint swelling, and her symptoms did not progress or recur even after stopping RA-specific treatments. Furthermore, the court found that Ms.

Monzon failed to establish a medically acceptable theory that the Tdap vaccine could cause RA or that it did so in her case. While some literature suggested a general association between vaccines and RA, the specific evidence linking the Tdap vaccine to RA was not sufficiently preponderant.

The court also found that the temporal relationship between vaccination and symptom onset was not definitively established as medically acceptable for RA. Ultimately, entitlement to compensation was denied because Ms.

Monzon did not prove she suffered from RA as a result of the vaccine, and even if she had, the causation theory was not sufficiently supported. The case was dismissed.