Vaccine Injury Compensation For Public In US and UK
A main impact of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) of 1986 was the initiation of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). This program, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), compensates individuals who experience certain health events following immunization on a “no fault” basis. “No fault” means that persons filing claims are not required to prove negligence on the part of either the healthcare provider or manufacturer to receive compensation. The program covers all routinely recommended childhood vaccines, although adults who receive a covered vaccine may also file a claim.
Claims may be based on a Vaccine Injury Table (available at http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/vaccinetable.html), which lists conditions associated with each vaccine and provides a rebuttable presumption of causation, or by proving by preponderant evidence that the vaccine caused an injury not on the Table. This Table was developed initially by Congress and has been modified by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to better reflect current science regarding which serious adverse events are reasonably certain to be caused by vaccines. The Table was created to provide swift compensation to those possibly injured by vaccines. As more information becomes available from research on vaccine side effects, the Table will continue to be amended.
VICP has provided compensation to individuals injured by rare vaccine-related adverse events and provided liability protection for vaccine manufacturers and administrators. Further information about the VICP is available at http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/vaccinetable. html.
During the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, the government implemented a new compensation program called Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP). This program provides compensation for certain individuals who are seriously injured by countermeasures as specified in a declaration by the Secretary of DHHS. Both security (bioterrorism) and pandemic countermeasures are covered. The CICP currently covers serious adverse events caused by pandemic influenza vaccines, including the 2009 monovalent H1N1 influenza vaccine that was widely distributed in the 2009 influenza season and any pandemic influenza vaccines in clinical trials such as H5, H7, H9, etc.
The CICP also currently covers serious adverse events caused by anthrax, smallpox, and botulism vaccines, including those used by the Department of Defense. Covered countermeasures within the CICP are not limited to vaccines and may include certain medications or devices used to diagnose, prevent, or treat the covered condition (currently pandemic influenza, smallpox, anthrax, botulism, and acute radiation syndrome). People have one year from receipt of the countermeasure to file with the CICP. More information can be found at http://www.hrsa.gov/countermeasurescomp.
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