US reports 27-fold increase in vaccine injury claims during pandemic

A surge of vaccine and countermeasure claims hit an HHS program during the COVID-19 pandemic, and only about 26% of those claims have been processed, according to a Dec. 18 federal report

The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently reviewed the HHS' Medical Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program. Here's what the GAO discovered: 

  • In October 2009, HHS began accepting claims seeking compensation for serious physical injuries or deaths from covered medical countermeasures, such as vaccines. Since then, the organization has received 13,824 claims. 

  • The agency "received approximately 27 times more claims in response to the COVID-19 pandemic than it had received in the entire first decade of the program — 13,333 compared to 491 claims, respectively."

  • Of the 3,482 claims that completed adjudication as of June 2024, 92 (2.6%) were eligible to receive compensation. Fifty-two of those claims involved serious injuries or deaths from COVID-19 countermeasures, 37 from the H1N1 vaccine, and three from smallpox and anthrax countermeasures.

  • Although the majority of claims involved COVID-19 medicines, most of the funds — $6.1 million — went to deaths and injuries caused by the H1N1 vaccine, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome. Nearly $420,000 went to 14 claimants for serious injuries caused by COVID-19 countermeasures, including myocarditis and myopericarditis. 

  • Forty-one eligible claims are pending a decision on the compensation amount. 

In 2021, the program overseeing these claims employed eight people. By 2024, it had grown to 89. HHS officials told the GAO they plan to improve claims management systems, expand the workforce rapidly and enhance interagency coordination. 

Access the GAO report here

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