The heath and societal benefits of getting
vaccinated, experts say, far outweigh the risks. But those risks, when
realized, can be severe — perhaps even deadly.
Since
its launch three decades ago, a federal program designed to compensate
those who claimed to have been harmed by vaccinations has distributed
nearly $4 billion.
It's important to note the
overwhelming majority of compensation is not accompanied by the
conclusion that one's injury or death was connected to a vaccination.
But a filer's petition does meet all the necessary criteria put forth by
the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. It is commonly known
as vaccine court because it is administered by the U.S. Court of Federal
Claims.
"The program essentially provides an alternative
to litigation," said Drew Britcher, an attorney in Glen Rock whose
office handles vaccine injury claims a couple times per year. "The court
and Congress, in order to try and draw a balance between the competing
interests, created this fund as a 'no-fault' process and system."
All
vaccine-related injury or death claims are pursued with a petition
through the program. The program at the start, Britcher said, was very
limited in the types of vaccines it covered. It's since expanded and
includes a lengthy list of covered vaccinations, including the seasonal
flu shot.
Between 2006 and 2016, according to
the federal government, more than 1.3 billion influenza vaccinations
were administered throughout the country. During the same period, the
program received nearly 3,000 petitions for health issues allegedly
related to the flu vaccine. A total of 442 were deemed eligible for a
payout.
In at least one of the cases handled by Britcher's
office over the years, the client was awarded an annual payment of
$250,000 for a debilitating condition.
"By in
large, most of the cases we deal with are not death cases," Britcher
said. "Have we handled cases that involved infant mortality? Yes."
An Ocean County couple who lost their 20-month-old son in May 2017 is taking their case through the petition process, according to News 12 New Jersey.
He was "recently vaccinated," the boy's mother said, and a later
examination of his medical records uncovered a pattern of illness
following vaccinations.
The program compensated
447 claims in Fiscal Year 2018, paying out more than $152 million. In
total, claimants have received $3,641,047,109.72 since 1988.
The program puts forth strict guidelines on when a
petition must be filed, and the severity of symptoms in order to be
considered for compensation.
Britcher said the
federal government has ruled there's not enough medical evidence to
support the claim that autism is linked to the administration of
vaccines.
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