Make Plans to Attend our Online Annual Meeting
Interested in learning more about quinism? Make plans now to join us online through Zoom this coming Monday, April 26, 2021 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time).
In light of continuing restrictions on in-person meetings, and recognizing the difficulty in attending lengthy meetings online, this year we have pared down our annual educational meeting to a concise and free 3-hour session, to be held together with the annual meeting of our board of directors.
No fee or meeting registration is required to attend, but please ensure you join the meeting after logging in to your registered Zoom account. For those who cannot join by computer, please join by telephone at +1 (301) 715-8592, using meeting ID 84400417746. Feel free to join as you are, as we will be muting the audio and video of participants except during question and answer sessions.
Anthony Hardie, National Chair and Director of Veterans for Common Sense, will be joining us shortly after our 1 p.m. (Eastern) start time. Following his presentation, Executive and Medical Director Dr. Remington Nevin will then provide a series of brief lectures discussing recent events, including an update on COVID-19-related chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine compensation claims under the CICP, and U.S. VA disability compensation claims.
We hope to resume our in-person educational meetings later in 2021, or in 2022, as circumstances permit, and we will look forward to welcoming you back to Vermont in due course at an upcoming annual meeting.
As always, if you appreciate the services The Quinism Foundation offers, you can learn how to donate in support of our research and education efforts. The foundation is proud to be listed as a registered charity in the PayPal Giving Fund, on Amazon Smile, and in the Network for Good’s donor-advised fund. You can also read more about the foundation’s charitable activities by reviewing our listing on Guidestar.
More Successful Mefloquine Claims
Veterans continue to report success in their U.S. VA disability claims. In recent months, we have learned of two successful 100% ratings for mental health conditions the VA has acknowledged are due to use of mefloquine during service. The first is an increased rating, now to 100%, for PTSD “related to antimalarial medication/toxicity”.
This veteran’s case is notable for having been the subject of a peer-reviewed case report published five years ago, describing the veteran’s mental health and vestibular symptoms. This veteran’s symptoms have remained persistent and, as the now permanent and total (P&T) disability rating demonstrates, have contributed to worsening disability over time.
The second case is a veteran of the Somalia era who was awarded a 100% P&T rating following what we believe is the first decision at the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) recognizing mefloquine exposure without documentation of prescribing, and linking this use to subsequent tinnitus and mental health symptoms, including symptoms of paranoia and psychosis, subsequently assigned a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
This case had been pending before the BVA for nearly a decade, and with assistance from The Quinism Foundation, a strong medical opinion was submitted which established both the likelihood of exposure to mefloquine, and the likelihood of a causal connection to the subsequent disability.
If you are seeking VA disability benefits for a condition which you believe is related to your use of mefloquine, whether you have documentation of exposure in your records or not, please contact us to learn more about your options. As described in our recent press release, The Quinism Foundation now offers mefloquine-related disability evaluation services.
Supporter Treks to Mount Everest Base Camp
Meet one of The Quinism Foundation’s youngest supporters, Leah-Mai. She is preparing to complete an 82 mile trek to reach Mount Everest base camp.
We wish Leah-Mai all the best on her challenging campaign, and look forward to following her success here.
Peace Corps Mefloquine Whistleblower Featured on Podcast
For a detailed examination of the Peace Corps’ historic misuse of mefloquine, we encourage you to make time to listen to this podcast on Whistleblower Network News, featuring Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Sara Thompson.
In this hour-long interview, Sara Thompson speaks of her experiences being prescribed mefloquine while a Peace Corps Volunteer in Burkina Faso, and her subsequent efforts to seek acknowledgement, compensation, and legal redress for her lasting complications from the drug.
