Katerina Novitskaya v. HHS - DTaP, atopic dermatitis (2025)

On August 15, 2019, Katerina Novitskaya filed a petition on behalf of her minor daughter, N.G., alleging that rotavirus, pneumococcal conjugate (Prevnar 13), and Pentacel vaccinations administered on June 30, 2017 caused atopic dermatitis. N.G. was born on April 27, 2017, and the challenged vaccinations were given at her two-month well visit.

The medical story began with skin issues that the court treated as important to causation. N.G. had cradle cap noted at the June 30 visit.

On July 10, 2017, roughly ten days after vaccination, her mother reported a worsening rash that had persisted four to five days. Dr.

Sawsan Salman Kara assessed seborrheic dermatitis, cradle cap, and impetigo, and later described extensive seborrheic dermatitis with overlying localized infection. N.G. continued to be treated with topical medication and follow-up care.

On August 22, 2017, pediatric dermatologist Dr. Amy Gilliam diagnosed overlapping moderate-to-severe atopic and seborrheic dermatitis, impetigo, and yeast overgrowth.

Dr. Gilliam wrote that she did not believe the two-month vaccines caused the eczema, though vaccines and other immune stimuli could trigger flares.

Petitioner's expert, allergist-immunologist Dr. Richard F.

Horan, argued that the vaccines could promote a TH2 cytokine response implicated in atopic dermatitis and cited vaccine-timing and immune-response literature. Respondent's expert, Dr.

Andrew MacGinnitie, a pediatric allergist-immunologist, argued that Dr. Horan had not provided a coherent mechanism and that N.G.'s seborrheic and atopic dermatitis most likely represented overlapping manifestations of the same underlying infant skin disorder.

Both experts agreed that the epidemiologic literature did not identify a causal relationship between vaccination and atopic dermatitis. Special Master Herbrina D.S.

Young denied the claim on December 11, 2025. She found that petitioner failed to prove a reliable medical theory under Althen prong one, a logical sequence of cause and effect under prong two, or a medically acceptable timing under prong three.

The decision emphasized N.G.'s age, the pre-vaccination cradle cap/seborrheic dermatitis history, the lack of a demonstrated vaccine-atopic dermatitis mechanism, and the absence of a flare after a later DTaP vaccination.