Lawmakers have unveiled legislation that gives people who say they were injured by COVID-19 vaccines a better chance to receive compensation.
The new bill from Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) and Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) would shift COVID-19 vaccine injury claims from the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program—which has rejected claims from many people, including some who doctors diagnosed as being injured by COVID-19 vaccines—to the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP).
The VICP has a lower threshold for proving vaccine injuries and is adjudicated by federal judges, rather than federal officials.
“Vaccines save lives and are an essential public health tool. In the rarest of instances when a related injury is suffered, compensation for medical bills and related losses should be prompt and reasonable,” Doggett said in a statement on July 14.
“But that has not been happening because of extended delays, outdated compensation caps, and failure to include coverage for COVID-19 vaccines. By making much-needed improvements to assure a prompt and fair response to vaccine-related injuries, this legislation will bolster consumer confidence and help combat misinformation.”
Smucker added that the bill “strengthens the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program while bringing COVID-19 vaccine claims into the program, so they are handled under the same fair and efficient process as other vaccine injury claims.”
The VICP was established in the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 as a no-fault program funded by excise taxes on vaccines. Under the program, money from a pool funded by the taxes is awarded to people who suffer vaccine injuries, with judges adjudicating cases. Pharmaceutical companies are not held liable for the injuries.
The VICP covers most vaccines given in the United States.
The Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program is administered and adjudicated by federal officials. It only covers vaccines cleared during emergencies.
Among other changes in the newly introduced legislation is a directive to expand the number of judges for the VICP from a maximum of eight to a minimum of 10, increase the cap on damages, and move the deadline to file claims from three years to five years following receipt of a vaccine.
React19, an organization that seeks to support people injured by vaccines, praised the new bill.
“Today is the culmination of years of relentless advocacy by people who refused to let their injuries be ignored,” Brianne Dressen, co-founder of React19, said in a statement.
“This legislation sends an important message: every American deserves to be heard, every legitimate injury deserves to be acknowledged, and every person who sacrifices in the name of public health deserves access to a fair system of compensation.”
