Teacher disgusted at way vaccine victims are treated

A Melbourne teacher who required open heart surgery following his Pfizer jab is one of three lead applicants in a class action against the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

A group of about 500 people who have ­expressed interest in joining the class action against the TGA.

A Melbourne primary school teacher who required open heart surgery following his Covid Pfizer vaccination is one of three lead applicants in a class action against medicines regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Gareth O’Gradie, 41, a married father of two, developed recurrent pericarditis (inflammation of the lining around the heart) in July 2021, six days after his first Covid jab. Over the next eight months he spent 89 days in hospital, including three days in intensive care after his surgery, and is still unable to return to full-time work.

He is joined by two other lead claimants: Antonio Derose, 66, who developed encephalomyelitis (inflammation in the brain and spinal cord) following his AstraZeneca jab; and Anthony Rose, 47, who claims severe cognitive impairment and chronic fatigue following his Moderna vaccination. They represent a group of about 500 people who have ­expressed interest in joining the class action.

The lawsuit, filed in the Federal Court on Wednesday, alleges negligence by the TGA in its ­approval and monitoring of Covid-19 vaccines and is seeking compensation for people who have been seriously injured.

Gareth O'Gradie.

Gareth O'Gradie required open heart surgery.

Respondents named in the action include the Australian government, the Department of Health and Aged Care secretary Brendan Murphy, who is soon to retire, and the former deputy secretary of Health Products Regulation Group, John Skerritt.

“The action will argue that the Therapeutic Goods Administration did not fulfil its duty to properly regulate the Covid-19 vaccines, resulting in considerable harm and damage to Australians,” solicitor Natalie Strijland from NR Barbi Solicitor said.

The TGA has insisted that the protective benefits of vaccination far outweigh the potential risks and on its website says suspected side effects are closely monitored: “This is the most intensive safety. However, like all medicines, the provisionally approved Covid-19 vaccinations do carry risks of side effects, most of them mild. The federal government’s Covid vaccination claims scheme was established as a safety net for the most serious cases, but applicants and lawyers have long argued that is too cumbersome and restrictive and it has only paid out a tiny percentage of claims.

The TGA has insisted that the protective benefits of vaccination far outweigh the potential risks.

Queensland GP Melissa McCann, who organised crowd-funding for the class action, said the claims process was failing to help those who need it most.

“Many vaccine-injured Australians who cannot access compensation through the Services Australia scheme now find themselves abandoned, with no support, Dr McCann said.

Mr O’Gradie says he is disgusted at the way people with legitimate side effects have been treated, and he joined the class ­action to help fight for fair and reasonable compensation. He says it is not an anti-vaccination stance. “I am pro medicine, I am pro science. I worry about the anti-vaccine lobby piggybacking on this,’’ he says.

He adds that as a teacher who worked with immune-compromised people, he was keen to be vaccinated from the outset. “I was ready to roll up my sleeve and get it done.” We’d been remote learning for so long we just wanted to get back to normality,’’ he said.

However, six days after his first Pfizer shot he experienced severe chest pains and shortness of breath and went to hospital fearing he was having a heart attack.

He was diagnosed with pericarditis, a condition his physicians linked to his vaccination.

Pericarditis and myocarditis are known rare side effects.

“I had no pre-existings, I was reasonably fit, I played sport and swam and surfed. I have two children aged 13 and 11 and was I fairly active with community sport. It was an absolute shock when it happened.”

The lawsuit, filed in the Federal Court alleges negligence by the TGA in its ­approval and monitoring of Covid-19 vaccines.

He was told the condition should resolve within three to six months with total rest and anti-inflammatory and pain medication. But Mr O’Gradie’s symptoms, including pain, fatigue and shortness of breath, didn’t improve and over the ensuing months he was in and out of hospital. “I’m talking eight-out-of-ten pain, feeling like I’m going to die pain,” he says.

When medicines failed to help, he underwent open heart surgery to remove the pericardium, the sac that surrounds the heart. It’s a procedure not without risk. “I was told I had a one in 100 chance of not making it through. It was a huge decision at my age with a young family. I didn’t even have a will or anything like that.”

The surgery has helped but the symptoms have lingered and he is unable to return to teaching because he is on immunosuppressants that make him vulnerable to other illnesses. “I would love to teach again, but that is not going to happen in the near future while I am immune compromised. Unless I get better, I’m looking at ­office work in an isolated role. I can’t teach small children with a mask on and being short of breath doesn’t help.”

A successful Work Cover claim helped support his family over the past two years and his claim with Services Australia for compensation is ongoing as he was offered a paltry sum for pain and suffering.

But Mr O’Gradie thinks of others who can’t access compensation or work cover, who have lost their health and their jobs. As the administrator of a Facebook page for people trying to navigate the compensation system, he’s witnessed this first-hand. “There are people who are suffering and they seem to have just been forgotten.’’