Bills to Add Covid-19 Vaccine Injuries to Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) Introduced in the House

 Posted on October 19, 2023 in Vaccine Injuries

Almost three years after the introduction of Covid-19 vaccines, two Bills (H.R 5142 and H.R.5143) introduced in the House of Representatives aim to make significant changes to the way injuries from Covid-19 vaccinations are handled.

Currently, injuries suspected to stem from Covid-19 vaccinations are handled in a program called the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP). You can find our blog about that program, and its differences compared to the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) here.

A major drawback of the CICP is the short one-year statute of limitations which requires that claims be filed within a year of vaccination.

Importantly, no later than sixty (60) days after the Bill’s passage, the Secretary of Health & Human Services (HHS) would need to form regulations to add Covid-19 vaccines to the Vaccine Injury Table. This would effectively add Covid-19 vaccination injuries to the VICP, a program that is significantly friendlier to the injured petitioner and provides for greater categories of compensation, including pain and suffering (which is not a source of damages in the CICP).

The proposed Bills would transition pending CICP Covid-19 vaccine injury claims into the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). At present, the VICP has a three-year deadline for filing claims (in matters not involving death).

While this is not an exhaustive list of all the changes to the VICP proposed in the Bill, the changes to the way Covid-19 vaccine injuries are handled are significant and will open up the VICP to many injured petitioners.

Support for the pending House Bill can be expressed to your local representative. You can find the contact information for your local representative here.