Budget for Vaccine Injury Compensation Programs Set to Jump From $1 Million to $5 Million in 2023 By for Children’s Health Defense
Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information Request show the Health Resources and Services Administration budget for COVID-19 vaccine injury compensation will increase in fiscal year 2023 — from approximately $1 million to $5 million, according to Wayne Rohde, co-founder of Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota.
A request contained within the bipartisan $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill for a 15% funding increase for vaccine injuries raised questions among some lawmakers, Newsweek reported today.
But according to Wayne Rohde, an expert in vaccine injury compensation, the requested 15% increase is routine.
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What’s more interesting, Rohde told The Defender, is that the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) budget for COVID- 19 vaccine injury compensation will increase in fiscal year 2023 — from approximately $1 million to $5 million — and its budget for staffing and contractors will jump from $5 million to $9.5 million.
Rohde, author of “The Vaccine Court 2.0,” co-founder of Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota and Autism Advocacy Coalition of Minnesota, and national advisory member of Health Choice, said he learned of the increase through information he obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
HRSA, which operates under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, administers two vaccine injury compensation programs: the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) and the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP).
The VICP is a special, no-fault tribunal housed within the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that handles injury claims for 16 common vaccines. To date, it has awarded more than $4 billion to thousands of people for vaccine injuries.
The VICP does not cover COVID-19 vaccine injuries — those are covered under the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), established under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act.
However, the PREP Act is set to expire in March 2024, at which time COVID-19 vaccine injuries may be covered under the VICP.
Only about 8% of the people who applied to the CICP with vaccine injuries in the past have ever received payouts and there are no protections from the U.S. legal system.
Between 2010 and December 2022, 11,431 claims were filed with the CICP — 10,899 of those claims for injuries were for COVID-19 vaccine and countermeasures, including testing and treatment.
Of the 10,899 COVID-19 countermeasure claims, 7,624 allege injuries/deaths from COVID-19 vaccines and 3,275 allege injuries/deaths from other COVID-19 countermeasures.
None of the 10,899 COVID-19 countermeasure claims has been fully compensated, according to Rohde, who said 10 of the claims were approved for compensation, but upon review were denied.
