Bloomberg
The US Department of Health and Human Services is extending through 2029 liability protections for those producing and administering Covid-19 vaccines, in a move to guard against future potential health emergencies.
The HHS first declared the public health emergency in 2020 in response to the Covid-19 outbreak and continually renewed it up until May 2023. In Tuesday’s notice, however, the HHS noted there remains “a credible risk that COVID-19 may in the future constitute such an emergency.”
The announcement comes as people working in the vaccine injury space have called for Covid-19 vaccines to be covered under the HHS’ Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Known as the VICP, the program pays people injured by standard childhood vaccines and shields drugmakers from litigation.
Covid-19 vaccine injuries aren’t currently covered by the VICP. Tuesday’s notice says nothing in it “shall be construed to affect the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, including an injured party’s ability to obtain compensation under that program.”
Covid vaccines are, however, covered by another program known as the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program. The CICP was established as a means to compensate people for injuries or deaths spurring from administration of measures meant to combat public health emergencies.
As of November 2024, over 13,000 claims for measures for treating Covid-19 have been filed, 10,000 of which were marked as in or awaiting review.
Of those, 10,449 countermeasure claims allege injury or death from Covid-19 vaccines.
Under the new notice, liability protections are extended through Dec. 31, 2029.
“Development of and stockpiling vaccines, therapeutics, devices, and diagnostics for COVID-19 continues to be needed for U.S. preparedness against the credible threat of a public health emergency due to outbreaks of COVID-19,” the notice said. The extension “is intended to prepare for and mitigate the credible risk presented by COVID-19.”
The shield also protects health professionals prescribing, dispensing or administering vaccines, including state-licensed pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy interns.
Also covered are diagnostics or other devices used to treat Covid-19.
