Americans Suffering Adverse Reactions To COVID-19 Vaccines To Be Routed To Rarely Used Federal Program
- August 14, 2020
Bloomberg (8/14, Bauman, Decker) reports, “Americans who suffer adverse reactions to coronavirus vaccines that the U.S. is racing to develop will have a hard time getting compensated for injuries from the drugs,” which is “because pandemic-related claims for vaccines will be routed to a rarely used federal program set up to encourage drugmakers to help combat public health emergencies.” The US FDA “has said it won’t cut corners when it comes to safety testing as companies such as Moderna Inc., Eli Lilly & Co. and Pfizer Inc. rush to develop a vaccine.” Congress gave HHS $30 billion earlier this year “to fund the development of coronavirus ‘countermeasures.’” However, “while the legislation allows HHS to transfer some of that money to the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program, that hasn’t happened yet and it’s unclear how much would be needed.”