Kristen Holmes v. HHS - Tdap, cramp-fasciculation syndrome, tremor, scalp pain, and persistent fatigue (2025)

Kristen Holmes filed a petition alleging that a Tdap vaccine administered on September 24, 2014, caused her to suffer from cramp-fasciculation syndrome (CFS), tremor, scalp pain, and persistent fatigue. Holmes, who was 33 years old at the time of vaccination, reported experiencing flu-like symptoms within hours of the injection, followed by muscle twitching and cramping in her calves and spreading throughout her body, along with fatigue, headaches, and scalp pain.

She sought treatment from numerous physicians, and one neurologist, Dr. Philip Blum, diagnosed her with Benign Fasciculation Syndrome (BFS) and opined that the Tdap vaccine was the likely cause.

However, other treating physicians and respondent's experts offered alternative explanations, including anxiety and pre-existing conditions. Petitioner's expert, Dr.

Arthur Brawer, proposed a complex "perfect storm" theory involving vaccine toxicity from unlisted ingredients like silicones and silica, and a pre-existing channelopathy. Respondent's experts, including neurologists and an immunologist, challenged Dr.

Brawer's theories, finding no evidence of a vaccine-induced autoimmune peripheral neuropathy or a link between the Tdap vaccine and BFS. They also noted that Petitioner had pre-existing symptoms and infections that could be alternative causes.

The Special Master found that Petitioner failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the Tdap vaccine caused her alleged injuries, specifically noting a lack of evidence for CFS, a potassium-gated channelopathy, or a sound causation theory for BFS. The petition was denied and dismissed on August 29, 2025.