Brianne Dressen was a preschool teacher, wife and mother when COVID-19 hit. When trials for the vaccines started rolling out, Dressen immediately volunteered, but things quickly took a turn for the worse, sending her on a medical journey she never anticipated.

Dressen sat down for an interview with KHTS co-owner Carl Goldman to discuss her new book, ‘Worth a Shot?’ and explain her story of life after the vaccine, and her efforts to support others through her work with React19.

Dressen participated in a clinical trial for the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, doing her part to help proactively protect her community

“Going into it, I was pretty confident that I was helping, you know, society by and large get out of the pandemic. And, yeah I rolled up my sleeve and got my shot,” Dressen said in the interview.

“My reaction started within an hour. It started with this strange pins-and-needles tingling sensation down the same arm of my injection and it spread to my other arm, my legs. I still have that painful pins-and-needles sensation pulsating through my body, head-to-toe every minute of every day to this day,” Dressen said.

Her symptoms did not stop there. Dressen told Goldman that her symptoms varied from sensitivity to light and sound, being unable to brush her teeth because they were too sensitive, inability to walk because her legs were so weak and constant rapid heartbeat, just to name a few.

After being shut down by numerous social media platforms and seeking awareness and community, Dressen co-created React19, which she now co-chairs.

React19 is a science-based non-profit offering financial, physical, and emotional support for those suffering from adverse long-term COVID-19 vaccine events globally.

“It was an organization born out of necessity. We realized the government wasn’t going to do their job and they were not going to own up to any of the promises that they made to us. So, we started our own 501(c)(3) non-profit,” Dressen said.

React19 has helped identify approximately 36,000 individuals that were affected by COVID-19 vaccinations.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine alone was distributed to roughly two billion people across the globe within the first 12 months of being approved for use, according to the AstraZeneca website.

Part biography, part social commentary, ‘Worth a Shot?’ follows Dressen’s journey of discovering the systematic failures that affect the health of millions worldwide and how she became a global advocate for something that nobody believed existed. As she continues to battle the far-reaching influence of giant corporations, her audience can see who came to her aid and what friendships she made throughout the process.

To find more information on Brianne Dressen’s story or her book, go to the React19 website.

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