A Massive Failure by HHS

How the CounterMeasures Injury Compensation Program has failed those who have been injured or have died

In an ongoing series to examine the CounterMeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP) and why COVID-19 related vaccines should be litigated in the NVICP, I will point the massive failure of the US Dept of HHS and HRSA to address the oncoming avalanche of COVID-19 related vaccine injuries.

I have written about the shortcomings of the CICP in the past. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Just a brief primer to bring everyone up to speed.

The CICP was not the first attempt to address compensation for injuries or death as a result of our government’s use of countermeasures to defeat a public health emergency.

The original PREP Act (Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness) was enacted by Congress back in 2005 in response to the threats of anthrax and Avian Flu (bird). However, the compensation program was never funded. Even the staffing was deficient.

Then came the H1N1 swine flu outbreak in 2009 and the Obama Administration’ rush to develop a vaccine. Sound familiar?

The outbreak was contained due to small outbreak regions. However, the vaccine caused severe injury to many. Congress was caught and embarrassed because of a malfunctioning compensation program.

So along comes legislation to create the CounterMeasures Injury Compensation Program. Some in Congress thought this would fix the deficiencies of the PREP Act program but it failed.

The CICP is an administrative system. No appeals to a federal court. Unlike the NVICP, attorney fees and medical expert costs are not covered by the CICP. You are basically on your own against the nation’s largest federal agency, the HHS agency.

The CICP has a very punitive statute of limitations of 1 year from the date of administration of the countermeasure. So if your injury does not manifest itself quickly, you will be SOL and I do not mean without a paddle. Many autoimmune disorders may take some time to develop. Sterility, arthritis, chronic medical conditions just to name a few.

The program is very opaque, maybe closer to a complete black out. Nearly 93% of petitioners who filed during the pre-COVID era were denied compensation.

Only 29 actually received monetary compensation, most for H1N1 causing GBS. Another 10 were determined to be compensable however the program is extremely cruel and unfair. Those 10 had private insurance or other benefits that were offset by the CICP.

The CICP does not have a dedicated funding mechanism for compensation. The NVICP has a trust fund with over $4.1 billion in assets to handle damage awards. The CICP has a fund of ………., well we really do not know.

FOIA’s to HHS/HRSA have been denied asking for funding balances, staffing requirements and job descriptions.

There is no public disclosure of decisions unlike the NVICP were decisions are posted daily on the Court’s website.

The public is denied access to who and how injury and death petitions in the CICP are decided.

It is literally the only federal program where you have the right to file and loose.

The CICP was never designed to handle any long term epidemic or pandemic. And it is a complete failure to be the exclusive remedy for thousands who have been injured by a COVID-19 vaccine.

Up next. Pending legislation introduced in June 2021 and also March 8, 2022 to address COVID-19 vaccine injury.

Keep learning, keep challenging yourself and always, always question authority.