Hundreds Injured by COVID Vaccines Turn to GoFundMe for Help With Expenses

High school senior Emma Burkey received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID vaccine on April 1. Within two weeks she was placed in an induced coma. She underwent three brain surgeries after experiencing seizures and developing blood clots in her brain.

When Burkey was well enough to be transferred from the hospital to a rehabilitation center, her first round of bills totaled $513,000.

Friends of the 18-year-old’s family turned to GoFundMe to raise money to help cover Burkey’s mounting medical costs. As of July 7, more than $59,000 had been raised.

The family hopes most of Burkey’s medical costs will be covered by insurance, but that’s unclear, as their daughter’s medical care cost could run into millions of dollars.

“Right now it feels like the national debt,” a family spokesperson said. “It’s so big you can’t get your head around it.”

According to a recent update on Burkey’s GoFundMe page, Burkey is still in intensive rehab, remains in a wheelchair, and can stand unassisted for the first time July 6 — almost four months after she got the vaccine.

More than 180 people seeking help on GoFundMe

As The Defender reported July 1, research compiled by a group in Mesa County, Colorado, showed as of June 25 there were more than 180 GoFundMe accounts seeking help for people who had suffered injuries after receiving a COVID vaccine and were left with large medical bills and other expenses.

Alicia Smith, 34, is a hairdresser who felt pressured by the media to get a COVID vaccine to make her clients feel safe. After receiving her second dose of Pfizer on April 15 at Walgreens, she immediately experienced negative side effects, including swelling, loss of feeling, inability to breathe, and symptoms of Bell’s Palsy.

Bell’s Palsy is unexplained facial muscle weakness or paralysis caused by damage to the facial nerve that causes one side of the face to droop. The condition usually resolves on its own within six months, but in rare cases, may be permanent.

A neurologist at Louisiana State University told Smith her symptoms were caused by anxiety and urged her to seek cognitive therapy. Two months after being hospitalized and undergoing rehab, Smith still cannot return to work because of severe uncontrollable body tremors and...

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