BioNTech is going to court today to face a lawsuit from a German woman who alleges that the company’s COVID-19 vaccine has caused her physical harm and material damage.
It’s the first of potentially hundreds of cases in the country. The plaintiff, whose name has been kept private under German privacy law, is seeking one hundred fifty thousand Euros in damages. She claims that she has experienced upper body pain, swollen extremities, fatigue, and sleeping disorders due to the vaccination.
Under German pharmaceutical law, vaccine makers are only liable for damages in the case of disproportional harm being caused relative to the benefits their product provides, or if label information is incorrect. BioNTech holds the marketing authorization for its vaccine in Germany and has stated that it believes the case to be without merit, citing the positive benefit risk profile of the vaccine,