The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) is a no-fault, no-cost resolution to vaccine injury claims that provides compensation to those found to be physically injured by certain vaccines. The list includes vaccines such as the seasonal influenza vaccine, hepatitis B vaccines, polio, measles, and mumps. However, the NVICP does not include the COVID vaccine.
The COVID vaccine is listed on the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP). This list includes vaccines that are recommended to prevent or treat a declared pandemic, epidemic, or security threat. Ebola, SARS, plague, anthrax, and smallpox are included in CICP.
“Overall, it sounds like a tough program to prevail in, as only 29 of 494 claims have been compensated in the last 10 years,” says Vaccine Lawyer, Dave Richards.
Although there is a plan to add the COVID vaccine to the NVICP, the process is federal and lengthy.
Dr. Cody Meissner’s “viewpoint” article dives into the COVID vaccine and how/why it is not included in the NVICP. The article references a self-help guide for people to make PREP (Countermeasures) Act claims.
“A request for benefits for an alleged injury must be submitted to CICP within 1 year from the date of the event,” according to Dr. Meissner.
Three facts to know about the COVID vaccine and the PREP Act:
- Unlike the vaccine program, PREP Act filings do not reimburse attorney’s fees (but Christensen & Jensen would evaluate such a filing if the client was willing to pay an hourly rate.)
- PREP Act filings have been largely unsuccessful. According to Meissner, only 494 PREP claims have been filed since 2010 and only 29 were deemed compensable.
- PREP filings have a 1-year statute of limitations. By comparison, the vaccine program provides a 3-year statute for injuries and a 2-year statue for deaths.
Filing for Benefits: https://www.hrsa.gov/cicp/filing-benefits
Dr. Meissner’s article: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2776308