A.F. v. HHS - HPV, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) (2022)

On March 26, 2019, A.F. filed a petition under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program alleging that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, received on December 30, 2017, caused her to develop Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). A.F., born January 14, 1993, was 24 years old at the time of vaccination.

Approximately four days after receiving the vaccine, she began experiencing symptoms including dizziness and fainting, which progressed to extreme fatigue, mental fogginess, and difficulty focusing. She was later diagnosed with POTS and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Petitioner argued that the HPV vaccine caused her POTS through an autoimmune mechanism involving molecular mimicry and autoantibodies. Petitioner's experts, Dr.

Mitchell Miglis and Dr. S.

Sohail Ahmed, presented medical literature and theories to support this claim. Respondent's expert, Dr.

Christopher Gibbons, countered that there was no reliable scientific evidence linking the HPV vaccine to POTS, that POTS has a heterogeneous etiology not primarily autoimmune, and that the autoantibodies proposed as causal were not specific or pathogenic. The Special Master reviewed extensive medical literature and expert reports.

Ultimately, the Special Master found that Petitioner failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the HPV vaccine can cause POTS, citing the lack of reliable scientific support and the repeated rejection of similar claims in prior cases. The Special Master also noted that Petitioner's own test results did not conclusively support the presence of the alleged causal autoantibodies.

Therefore, entitlement was denied. Petitioner was represented by Edward Kraus of Kraus Law Group, LLC, and Respondent was represented by Mitchell Jones of the U.S.

Department of Justice. The decision was issued by Chief Special Master Brian H.

Corcoran on October 11, 2022.