Jasmine Comeau
Day 4 · September 11, 2026 · 0:30:30
Key points Jasmine Comeau, now 22 and living in Saint John, was a healthy, active 16-year-old high school student who loved hiking, kayaking, and volleyball before her injury. She testifies she felt pressured to get a second Pfizer shot on September 22, 2021, because it became mandatory in New Brunswick for school events and sports, and she was rushed to sign a paper. She says she felt immediate stiffness and cold sensations during injection, then a headache and tingling feet within minutes, and within five days could not feel her legs. She recounts that an ER doctor dismissed her symptoms as flu until her mother, a nurse, mentioned Guillain-Barre syndrome, after which she was admitted and given steroids. She says five years later her left foot still drags, she is in daily pain, and she developed painful nightly leg tremors lasting up to two hours. She describes failing grade 12, spending her final year alone in the library because classrooms weren't wheelchair accessible, losing friends, and later completing a college social service program. She says the Vaccine Injury Support Program declined her claim citing lack of evidence and multiple diagnoses, and after years of appeals she is still waiting, having once told her mother she didn't want to live.
Speaker 1
0:01 So our next witness is Jasmine Kamau. 0:08 I'm having a day with names. 0:10 Jasmine, do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? 0:20 Or do you want to swear on the Bible? 0:22 Okay. 0:24 So take the Bible in your right hand. 0:28 Jasmine Kamau, do you swear? 0:31 To tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. 0:36 So help you God. Speaker 1
0:41 Now, you're 22 now and you live in St. John. 0:46 Yeah. 0:48 But before the vaccine, you were 16. 0:52 You were in high school. Speaker 2
0:53 Yeah, I was in high school. Speaker 1
0:56 And you had no health problems. Speaker 2
0:58 No, I was just a little bit overweight, but I was very active. 1:06 I love going outside. 1:07 I was always hanging out, making plans with my friends, spending time with my family. 1:17 Me and my stepdad, we loved doing adventures. 1:22 We liked to try out new things. 1:25 He was my hiking buddy. Speaker 1
1:28 And you would hike and kayak and you were into soccer and volleyball and things like that. Speaker 2
1:34 I was into volleyball, but I couldn't play much during the COVID pandemic because of the lockdowns. 1:43 But I loved playing soccer and volleyball on my own time. 1:48 I love kayaking. 1:50 It's one of my favorite things to do. 1:52 It's very peaceful being on the water. 1:54 I was very Speaker 3
1:58 I would say it was very outgoing. Speaker 1
2:04 Now, on June 17, 2021, you have your first shot. Speaker 1
2:17 And then on September 20, and nothing really happened after your first shot. Speaker 2
2:22 Just a little sore arm, but I... 2:26 It wasn't bad. 2:28 I didn't have any reaction. Speaker 1
2:32 On September 22, 2021, you have your second shot, a Pfizer shot. 2:37 Can you share with us what happened after that? Speaker 3
2:44 Can I share why I took it? Speaker 2
2:48 Can I share why? Speaker 1
2:50 Oh, you absolutely can share why you took it. Speaker 4
2:55 COVID vaccine because it was, it was mandatory in school. Speaker 3
3:13 I felt very pressured to take the COVID vaccine. Speaker 2
3:25 In order to do any school events or to join sports, I was planning to join the volleyball team in the wintertime. 3:38 I needed a vaccine proof. 3:40 I was also in the yearbook photography team taking pictures for the sport team. 3:48 And in order for me to continue taking pictures, I needed my second shot. 3:56 And without it, I wouldn't be able to continue. 4:01 So on September 22, on the 2021, I mean, I went, my mom took me to a vaccine clinic and I remember it was very scary because there was, that was the day 4:23 it became mandatory in New Brunswick. 4:27 And there was a long line up outside of the clinic. 4:31 There were people crying because they were scared of losing their job. 4:35 There were kids scared, like they were crying, asking their mom, what are we doing here? 4:44 And so, yeah, I went inside and I was told to sign a piece of paper 4:54 I was rushed to sign the paper. 4:57 I don't know what it was. 4:59 I didn't have time to read the paper. 5:04 Once I signed it, they said, go to this table and you'll get your vaccination. 5:12 So I went and sat at a table and I was never told 5:20 any possible side effects. 5:24 I was only told I could have a sore arm and maybe a flu-like symptom for the next few days, but I was never told I could be severely injured and be in a wheelchair. 5:43 As soon as I felt the injection going inside my arm, I felt 5:50 the back of my neck going like very stiff. 5:55 And I was about like the solution going down my arm. 6:03 It felt very cold and heavy. 6:07 And after that, we were told to wait 15 minutes in the waiting area. 6:16 And I was with my mom and we were waiting. 6:20 And within like 10 minutes, I would say, I started having like a really big headache and some pains. 6:30 And I started feeling a tingly feeling at the bottom of both of my feet. 6:37 And so I told my mom about what I'm feeling because she's a nurse. 6:44 And I never felt 6:48 Like, I didn't have any of those feelings with my first vaccine. 6:51 So I was a little concerned, you know, now. 6:54 So I told my mom about it. 6:57 And so she immediately told one of the staff worker about my symptoms. 7:06 And I was told to wait 10 more minutes. 7:09 So we waited more. 7:12 And I was also told, like, if it gets worse, let them know again. 7:19 My symptoms were not like my headache and the tingly feeling. 7:23 It wasn't getting worse, but it wasn't getting any better. 7:27 And I already had a long day at school. 7:30 So I just told my mom, take me home. 7:33 I'll just take a Tylenol and try to get off. Speaker 4
7:37 So she took me home. Speaker 3
7:47 I took a Tylenol. 7:48 I went to sleep. 7:51 And the next day, I woke up with weakness in my legs. 8:01 And within five days, I couldn't feel my legs. Speaker 4
8:14 I couldn't feel my legs. 8:18 My head, sharp pain going up and down my spine. Speaker 3
8:29 So my mom took me to the emergency hospital. Speaker 2
8:38 And the hospital, I was surprised it wasn't busy. 8:43 I was seen immediately. 8:46 And 8:49 the doctor asked what brought me here today and I explained my symptoms and I said it was soon after the COVID vaccine. 9:02 And he immediately said, no, it's probably just a flu. 9:09 Go home and just take more Tylenol and you'll be fine. Speaker 1
9:13 So I just want to make sure we have this clear. 9:17 So 9:18 You at that time can't feel your legs. 9:21 Are you able to stand? 9:27 So you're a 16-year-old high school student who can't stand. 9:32 You've also got this headache, pins and needles. 9:37 I guess you don't have those anymore. 9:38 You can't feel anything. 9:40 Is this from the waist down? 9:43 And the doctor suggests to you that it's a flu. 9:46 Flu. Speaker 2
9:48 Yeah, he didn't do any tests. Speaker 1
9:50 No blood work, no scans? Speaker 2
9:53 No, I don't have. 9:54 My mom spoke up, and I'm so grateful she was there. Speaker 3
9:59 She spoke up and said, no, go do some tests. Speaker 2
10:10 She mentioned about Guillain-Barre syndrome, which... 10:16 It can happen from any vaccine. 10:20 And the doctor looked at her and said, how do you know about this? 10:25 How do you know those medical terms? 10:28 And my mom said, because I'm a nurse. 10:32 And as soon as she said that, it's like I was talking to different doctors. 10:40 changes his mind. 10:41 He's like, okay, I'm going to go do this, this test. 10:44 He started, uh, he admitted me to the hospital that night. Speaker 3
10:49 Um, he started treating me differently because my mom says she's a nurse. Speaker 1
10:58 Now you're, um, never able to walk normally again, four days after. Speaker 2
11:04 It's been, it's been five years now. 11:07 And, um, 11:10 I'm still having a hard time. 11:11 My left foot drags when I tried to walk. 11:18 After I got admitted to a hospital, the doctors gave me steroids, which I gained the feelings back. 11:32 And my right leg came back good. 11:35 But my left leg has been very weak. 11:38 It drags. Speaker 3
11:40 And I'm in extreme pain every day. 11:47 Like today I'm in a lot of pain. Speaker 1
11:52 Is it the whole leg that's painful? Speaker 1
11:56 Is it the entire leg that's painful? Speaker 2
11:59 It depends on the days. 12:03 Mostly it's the foot. 12:06 But if I 12:09 I do a lot of exercise. 12:10 It will be the whole leg. 12:13 If it's pouring outside, I find the weather affects a lot. 12:20 Traveling affects a lot. 12:23 I can't even go see my grandma. 12:26 She lives three hours away from me. Speaker 3
12:30 And it takes me a whole day to recover when I go see her. Speaker 1
12:43 So just getting in the car, having to sit in the car, visit, get back in the car, sit in the car, go back in the house, taking a full day to recover from that. Speaker 2
12:55 A full day, yeah. 12:56 And I have to take some painkillers, which makes me very sleepy, and I don't like doing that. Speaker 4
13:06 I don't like being in bed. Speaker 1
13:27 I want to show two photos of when you're healthy, and then I want to show a photo of one of your leg seizures. 13:36 But we haven't talked about the leg seizures. 13:39 Talk about that before we start the video. Speaker 2
13:43 I started having tremors about in November. 13:50 So like two months after receiving my vaccine. 13:56 It happens mostly during night times. 14:00 I don't get as often as it was before. 14:03 Before it was almost every night. 14:06 My leg would shake a lot. 14:08 And it feels like it feels like 14:12 electric shocks going up and down and it's very painful and you know sometimes they would last up to like half an hour sometimes even an hour the longest I've had was two hours and I I don't get them as much anymore because I found a method to like 14:40 I'm getting under control. 14:42 I find heat and I find heat and drinking, like just calming myself down, like taking deep breath helps. 14:55 But when it first started, I didn't know any methods. 15:01 So it was lasting for a long time. Speaker 1
15:07 So David, can you pull up the first photo? 15:10 And this is a photo before your vaccine. 15:14 And who's that with you? Speaker 1
15:17 Okay. 15:18 And you guys are making a birdhouse or something. Speaker 2
15:21 My stepdad built it. 15:23 And we decided to decorate it and paint it. Speaker 3
15:28 And we put it in our backyard. 15:31 We were so happy about it. Speaker 1
15:36 And then, David, can you move to the next photo? 15:39 And this is you kayaking. Speaker 2
15:41 Four days before I took my second vaccine. Speaker 1
15:45 This is four days before your second vaccine. Speaker 3
15:49 And I was so happy. Speaker 1
15:55 And then, David, can you play the video of the leg seizure? Speaker 4
16:06 Is it an argument? Speaker 1
16:35 And then David, do you want to play the video of Jasmine learning to walk again? Speaker 2
16:43 And are you 17 in this video? 16:49 Yeah. 16:49 In that video, I believe that was in January of 2022. 17:14 I got admitted to the hospital for physio rehab because there's my neurologist, my family doctor, and my pediatric doctor sent multiple referrals to a physio rehab center in New Brunswick called Stan Cassidy. 17:39 And every one of the referrals got denied. 17:43 And their reason was they don't deal with vaccine injuries. 17:47 So I, my private physio told me, my private physiotherapist told me I need intense, intense physio rehab five days a week. 17:58 And I couldn't receive it at Stake Cassidy. 18:02 So the doctor at Miramichi Regional Hospital admitted me for three weeks of intense physio. 18:12 And I'm very grateful because I learned how to take a few steps and I learned how to do some stairs with my cane because my bedroom was upstairs. Speaker 3
18:25 My parents had to, we had to make our dining room into a hospital room for me. 18:33 We had a hospital bed. 18:34 We had, um, I had a, um, I don't know what's called, like a commode to, um, Speaker 2
18:43 to use when I need to use a bathroom, because my bathroom wasn't even accessible for my wheelchair. 18:52 So I'm very grateful that I spent a few weeks in Osborne to learn how to do stairs, so I miss my bed. Speaker 1
19:03 Now, you're still in high school when this happens, and you end up, obviously, that's disrupted. 19:10 Can you tell us how you finished high school and what that experience was like? Speaker 2
19:16 I actually failed my grade 12. 19:20 And that was my main reason why I took the vaccine. Speaker 3
19:25 Was to just be able to join events, like school events with my friends, go to prom with them, graduate with them. Speaker 2
19:40 And due to having doctor's appointment and just being in a lot of pain, I couldn't even go to school full days. 19:52 I was going to school half days. 19:58 Due to missing a lot of assignments because of doctor's appointment and I couldn't be in school full days, 20:09 I filled my grade 12 years and I spent it mostly alone in the library because my classroom were not wheelchair accessible. 20:21 So I had to learn my own courses in the library by myself. Speaker 3
20:30 That was my last year of high school in the library all by myself. Speaker 1
20:55 You did finish. Speaker 1
20:58 And then you went on to college. Speaker 2
21:01 I went to college. 21:06 I just finished a two-year program. 21:12 I just finished a two-year program in social service community worker because I really want to advocate for others. Speaker 1
21:33 But you missed a lot of days because you had appointments and sometimes you're just in too much pain to go. Speaker 2
21:40 College was really hard because Speaker 3
21:42 Because, like you said, I've been in a lot of pain. Speaker 2
21:48 And I'm very grateful. 21:50 My teachers were very understanding. 21:53 They allowed me to do my schoolwork at home on days where I couldn't make it to school. Speaker 3
22:01 And it was really hard, but I did it. Speaker 1
22:05 Thank you. 22:12 For teenagers, their social life is usually the most important thing. 22:17 Can you share with us how this affected your social life and friendships? Speaker 2
22:23 I lost many friends because of this. 22:27 One of my friends told me she didn't know how to talk to me after being in a wheelchair. 22:36 I remember it. Speaker 3
22:42 high school i was you know going down the hallway and like we hear people laughing at me there goes the wheelchair girl i've been left that and i've lost many friends 23:13 It's been very hard to meet people and make friends. Speaker 2
23:23 My sister has been, I've been mostly hanging out with my sister and her friends. 23:31 I don't really have any friends. Speaker 1
23:43 You applied to the Vaccine Injury Support Program. 23:46 Can you share with us what happened? Speaker 2
23:50 I applied it soon after I got injured. 23:54 I don't remember what day. 24:00 It's been a nightmare. 24:04 I've had 24:10 I don't remember. 24:11 I've lost count of how many case managers I've had. Speaker 3
24:14 I've had over six. 24:20 And it's so hard to reach out to them. Speaker 2
24:28 I find it was really hard. 24:31 I've asked my mom to help me with the vaccine support program because it was very hard for me. 24:40 And they've asked for my medical records three times. 24:48 We've had to go to the hospital, like St. John Hospital and Ramsey Hospital, three different times to send my medical records to them. 25:00 And that was, we had to pay out of our money to have it shipped to the Vaccine Endurance Support Program. Speaker 3
25:10 And then on February 2024, my mom came to me and told me I got declined. 25:28 She showed me the letter and it was due to lack of evidence and also due to Speaker 2
25:40 multiple diagnosis because my doctors didn't know, my doctors doesn't know how to help me. 25:50 So they've put depression as a diagnosis, they've put anxiety as a diagnosis, they've put functional conversion disorder as a diagnosis. Speaker 3
26:08 And I remember telling my mom that I don't want to live anymore. 26:19 And she was like, she told me, no, we're going to appeal for it. Speaker 2
26:32 We're going to keep fighting. Speaker 3
26:36 She told me I have so much to achieve and I'm so glad I have her. 26:40 It's been two years and I'm still waiting. Speaker 2
26:56 We appealed two years ago and I'm still waiting for a new caseworker. 27:02 And I got asked to make a new account. 27:06 with the new program, the vaccine impact program? Speaker 4
27:28 Jasmine, thanks for coming. Speaker 5
27:32 I don't know how you see yourself, but I see you as a leader. 27:39 I see a very supportive family. 27:42 Right? 27:44 Supportive sister. Speaker 5
27:46 Right? 27:48 I see one tough cookie that's been through some stuff. 27:52 Right? 27:53 But is keeping fighting. 27:57 So you're taking an incredible step to be here today. 28:01 Put yourself out there. 28:04 But you know what you are. 28:05 You're an example now to others, to other young people. 28:09 You know, it's a shame that anything has happened, any of the witnesses here today, and especially our young people. Speaker 2
28:16 And that's what I've been trying to do is spread more awareness for the kids who got injured. 28:23 You know, as we've heard this morning, Sean Hartman died when he was very young. Speaker 3
28:33 He was my age. 28:35 That could have been me. Speaker 2
28:40 I guess what I've been trying to do is just spread more awareness about what the kids have been going through. 28:46 You know, school was very pressured. 28:49 I remember teachers just keep, they would ask us in class who got their vaccine and who haven't. 29:01 My school also had a vaccine clinic in the cafeteria. Speaker 3
29:05 The school felt 29:11 It felt like a prison for me. Speaker 2
29:14 And it's what I've been trying to do is just talk more about it. Speaker 5
29:18 Well, we really feel that these four days is, we really hope and pray it's going to encourage more people to talk publicly about this, right? 29:29 We feel like the ceiling's been shattered and we should all be able to talk about our experiences and encourage other people to do it and 29:39 It's no fault of any of the people in here. 29:43 You were let down by the system. 29:44 You were let down by politicians. 29:47 You were let down by the medical community. 29:50 But you're here for a reason. 29:53 And so I just want to encourage you, as you lean on your family, to find that strength so that you can encourage other young people that may be going through the same thing. 30:07 So thank you so much for being here. Speaker 2
30:09 Thank you for listening to me, Dean. Speaker 5
30:13 We wish you safe travels.