In the United States Court of Federal Claims OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS Originally Filed: May 9, 2022 Refiled in Redacted Form: July 20, 2022 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * H.C., * PUBLISHED * Petitioner, * No. 16-4V * v. * Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey * SECRETARY OF HEALTH * Entitlement; Influenza (“Flu”) Vaccine; AND HUMAN SERVICES, * Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. * Respondent. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Robert J. Krakow, Law Office of Robert J. Krakow, P.C., New York, NY, for petitioner. Colleen Hartley, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for respondent. DECISION1 I. INTRODUCTION On January 4, 2016, H.C. (“petitioner”) filed a petition under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (“Vaccine Act” or “the Program”), 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-10 et seq. (2012)2 alleging that as a result of an influenza (“flu”) vaccination on January 4, 2013, petitioner suffered 1 Because this Decision contains a reasoned explanation for the action in this case, the undersigned is required to post it on the United States Court of Federal Claims’ website in accordance with the E-Government Act of 2002. 44 U.S.C. § 3501 note (2012) (Federal Management and Promotion of Electronic Government Services). This means the Decision will be available to anyone with access to the Internet. In accordance with Vaccine Rule 18(b), petitioner has 14 days to identify and move to redact medical or other information, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. If, upon review, the undersigned agrees that the identified material fits within this definition, the undersigned will redact such material from public access. 2 The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program is set forth in Part 2 of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-660, 100 Stat. 3755, codified as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 300aa-10 to -34 (2012). All citations in this Decision to individual sections of the Vaccine Act are to 42 U.S.C. § 300aa. 1 from Ramsay Hunt syndrome.3 Petition at 2-3, 7 (ECF No. 1). Respondent argued against compensation. Respondent’s Report (“Resp. Rept.”) at 1 (ECF No. 46). After carefully analyzing and weighing the evidence presented in this case, in accordance with the applicable legal standards, the undersigned finds petitioner has failed to provide preponderant evidence that the flu vaccine she received caused her Ramsay Hunt syndrome. Therefore, this case must be dismissed. II. ISSUES TO BE DECIDED The parties agree that petitioner received the flu vaccine on January 4, 2013, that petitioner was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, and that the condition “results from reactivation of the varicella zoster virus” (“VZV”). Joint Submission, filed Mar. 9, 2021, at 1-2 (ECF No. 221). The parties identify three factual issues in dispute: (1) “[t]he cause of petitioner’s reactivation of Ramsay Hunt syndrome in June 2013 and recurrences thereafter;” (2) “[t]he timeline for petitioner’s development of [eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (“EGPA”)], and specifically whether petitioner had …
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