Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

In my newsletter of August 6, 2021, I stated that “There is . . .  a federal program to compensate people in those very rare cases where harm occurs [as a result of COVID-19 vaccination].”  According to the Los Angeles Times that program has serious limitations and has yet to pay any claims related to COVID vaccines.  The article, titled Federal vaccine court hasn’t helped those whose lives were altered by COVID-19 shots, can be found at https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2021-08-17/severe-covid-vaccine-injuries-help-federal-vaccine-court.

According to the article, the “program requires evidence that is hard to pin down, does not pay attorney fees . . .[and] rules by administrative fiat.”  Furthermore, claimants must prove that their symptoms were caused by the vaccine (often a practical impossibility) and results in less compensation than that recoverable in a civil suit.  The article also states that a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a bill in Congress to reform the program.

The program was created as part of the federal government’s decision to grant vaccine makers immunity from civil suits for vaccine injuries.  I believe it only fair for the program to provide victims the same compensation as they would receive in a civil suit.     

If the article is correct, I’d agree that the program should be reformed to allow those injured by vaccines to

• Win their cases if the injury could conceivably have been caused by the vaccine, and even if the vaccine was taken before passage of the reform bill;
• Receive the same damages that could have been recovered in a civil suit;
• Receive reasonable attorney fees and costs; and
• Have their claims resolved through an expedited arbitration or an expedited jury trial as the claimant chooses.