The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) is a federal government program that provides compensation to individuals and families affected by vaccine-related injuries. But, while the VICP covers most vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is one particularly notable exception: The VICP currently does not cover Covid vaccine injuries.

Why is this the case? As vaccine lawyer Leah V. Durant explains, the answer has more to do with politics and bureaucracy than it does with the risk of Covid vaccine injuries. While vaccine injuries are rare, all vaccines carry certain risks—and this includes the Covid vaccines. As a result, while we expect the Covid vaccines to be added to the VICP, we can’t say when this will happen.

Adding Covid Vaccines to the VICP: Latest Developments

Updates on adding the Covid vaccines to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) have been relatively few and far between over the past year. This is frustrating, as adding the Covid vaccines to the VICP would have a profound effect on many people’s lives.

While vaccine injuries are rare, they do happen. Since the introduction of the Covid vaccines in late 2020, risks linked to these vaccines have included:

• Anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction)
• Shoulder injuries related to vaccine administration (SIRVA)
• Blood clots and other health conditions

Although Covid vaccine injuries are not covered under the VICP currently, they are covered under a different federal program, the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP). However, this program is more difficult than the VICP to navigate, the time window for filing a claim is smaller, and the CICP provides far less compensation to eligible claimants than the VICP.

Since the start of the pandemic, more than 13,000 Covid-related CICP claims have been filed. Yet, the federal government has only processed about 3,000 of these claims, and it has determined that just 58 claimants are entitled to compensation. To date, it has paid compensation to just 16 of these individuals.

Clearly, a better solution is needed. This solution is to add the Covid vaccines to the VICP. In fiscal year 2024 alone, the VICP has paid 1,139 vaccine compensation awards, with a total compensation amount of $142.6 million.

Here are some of the latest updates we have on adding Covid vaccines to the VICP:

August 2023: Vaccine Injury Compensation Modernization Act of 2023 Seeks to Add Covid Vaccines to the VICP

Last August, Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) introduced H.R. 5142, which was titled, Vaccine Injury Compensation Modernization Act of 2023. Among other changes, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Modernization Act of 2023 would have made two key changes regarding Covid vaccine injuries:

• It would have authorized (and required) the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to add Covid vaccine injuries to the VICP; and,
• It would have transferred pending Covid vaccine injury claims under the CICP to the VICP.

Unfortunately, H.R. 5142 went nowhere. After being assigned to the Subcommittee on Health shortly after its proposal, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Modernization Act of 2023 went dormant. No similar bills have yet been proposed in 2024.

November 2023: HRSA Says it is “Working to Establish” an Updated Vaccine Injury Table that Includes Covid Vaccine Injuries

Last November, Bloomberg Law published an article discussing a lawsuit that a group of patients filed seeking to compel the federal government to add Covid vaccine injuries to the VICP. In that article, the author wrote:

“[A] spokesperson . . . said the [HRSA] is ‘working to establish’ a table that would ‘list and explain injuries that, based on the statutory compelling, reliable, valid, medical, and scientific evidence standard, are presumed to be caused by covered COVID-19 countermeasures.’”

However, we have not seen any updates on this lawsuit or the HRSA’s efforts since that time. The HRSA’s website does not appear to include any information on the agency’s efforts to add Covid vaccine injuries to the VICP, and it still directs potential claimants to file under the CICP.

March 2024: Select Committee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Hears Testimony in Favor of Adding Covid Vaccines to the VICP

This March, the Select Committee on the Coronavirus Pandemic heard testimony in favor of adding Covid vaccines to the VICP. This testimony was provided by Professor Renée J. Gentry of The George Washington University Law School. As Professor Gentry told the members of the Select Committee:

“Congress must act quickly to include the Covid-19 vaccines – and those [claims] currently filed in the CICP – in the VICP so those people who did the right thing to protect themselves, their families, and their communities by getting vaccinated have a reasonable and fair opportunity for compensation for their vaccine injuries.”

Yet, to date, it does not appear that the Select Committee has taken any action in furtherance of efforts to add Covid vaccine injuries to the VICP. As a result, while we still expect that Covid vaccine injuries will be added to the VICP, we can’t say when this is likely to happen.

Should You Wait to File a VICP Claim if You Are Dealing with a Covid Vaccine Injury?

With all of this in mind, should you wait to file a VICP claim if you are dealing with a Covid vaccine injury? Answering this question requires a careful assessment of your specific circumstances—so you will want to consult with a vaccine lawyer promptly. While waiting may make sense in some cases, you do not want to lose your ability to file under the CICP if necessary, and it is possible (though not guaranteed) that pending CICP claims will be transferred to the VICP eventually.

Schedule a Free Consultation with Vaccine Lawyer Leah V. Durant

Do you need to know more about seeking financial compensation for a Covid vaccine injury? If so, we invite you to get in touch. To schedule a free consultation with vaccine lawyer Leah V. Durant, please call 202-775-9200 or tell us how we can help online today.

Categories: COVID-19 vaccine injury