Not done yet: Trump administration seeks limits on vaccine injury comp

People harmed by COVID-19 vaccines could be affected

The Trump administration is quietly pushing for a new rule that would prohibit many people harmed by vaccines from receiving compensation from the government.

In fact, they’re being so quiet about it, the government gave people who want to testify at a public meeting about the new limits a negative three days to sign up. The public meeting, which is scheduled for November 9th, wasn’t announced until today. The announcement set October 26th as the deadline for signing up to testify.

A hat-tip to Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) for bringing this to the public’s attention. It gave me an opportunity to read up on the proposed rule, which is still open to public written comment until January 12, 2021.

The proposed rule would prevent any person with shoulder injuries or fainting problems caused by vaccines from seeking compensation from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund (VICF). It also eliminates an Obama-era rule that automatically includes any new children’s vaccine on the list of vaccines eligible for VICF claims.

The VICF was created in the 1980s as a no-fault compensation system for vaccine injuries. With an increasing share of the population blaming vaccines for rising incidence of autism and other rare diseases, the hope was that easier access to compensation would both arrest the decline in vaccination rates and encourage reporting of adverse events.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar, a former Eli Lilly executive, justified the new rule by claiming shoulder injuries and fainting spells are caused by vaccine administration and not by the vaccine itself. He also said automatically including new vaccines violates the law, which requires notice-and-comment rule-making for any new vaccine added to the fund’s list of eligible vaccines.

Under the emergency measures adopted earlier this year, injuries from any new COVID-19 vaccine will be covered by a separate Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), which is run by HHS. “Because a potential COVID–19 vaccine are not currently on the table (for the VICF), the department does not believe this rule would have an impact on patients with COVID–19 or a COVID–19 vaccine,” Azar said in the rule. “However, HHS requests public comment on this determination.”

The CICP has been attacked by trial lawyers as a “black hole.” The fund gives claimants a short one-year window for filing claims, limits their participation in its deliberations, and doesn’t provide fees for attorneys or expert witnesses. “There are major deficiencies that need to change,” Peter Meyers, an emeritus professor at George Washington University School of Law and former director of the Vaccine Injury Litigation Clinic, told Reuters earlier this year.

He recommended COVID-19 vaccine injuries be handled through a separate “vaccine court” set up under the VICP. It is more transparent and has a better record of compensating people for the rare injuries or serious side effects, he said.

Of course, that could change if this proposed rule goes into effect.