COVID vax injury compensation legislation
My original article was going to dissect both pieces of legislation that were introduced to provide some form of compensation for COVID-19 related vaccine injuries.
However, I have totally scrapped that article, threw it in the trash.
What needs to be discussed is not how each piece of legislation plays off each other, but rather a complete discussion of what is needed for the ten’s of thousands of individuals who are suffering, who are hurting, who can not work and provide for their families. We have to acknowledge that these vaccine have caused great harm to the public and we simply do not know the extent of these injuries. It may take a few years for many to recognize the full extent of their injuries.
First, we need to acknowledge that most of those who did receive the vaccines thought they were doing the right thing. For the vaccine risk aware community, we need to support those who are now injured, offer our compassion and help.
This very large group of vaccine injured are new to our movement, our efforts seeking proper medical care, understanding from our peers, and the ongoing campaign seeking acknowledgement from our government of the corruption of the pharmaceutical industry and government agencies.
So let’s look at some components that are needed to make sure that any form of injury compensation is fair, it is equitable, it is just and efficient. These were the principals that Congress and the parents who advocated for the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program back in the early 1980’s.
In no specific order, here is a list.
Transparency. The program must be transparent to all parties. We must know who is making compensation decisions and why. The public must be made aware of this program, unlike the NVICP and even worse the CICP. By simply adding 2 sentences to the backside of a VIS statement is not public awareness. TV, Cable news, radio, newspaper and internet/social media public awareness is paramount. The task of establishing a Vaccine Injury Table must also be transparent and include stakeholders who represent all medical science and those who represent the vaccine injured.
Funding. A sustainable funding mechanism must be established at the beginning. The reliance of the use of Congressional budget appropriations is unacceptable. Congress squabbling over annual appropriations creates uncertainty in the program to properly budget for damage awards, lead to artificial damage award ceilings, staffing requirements, and could shut down payment of costs such as medical expert fees and attorney fees. We must have a similar mechanism to the Vaccine Injury Trust Fund. The only way to accomplish this would be to create a tax or levy on every vaccine administered. Currently, the vaccine is provide free. That will have to change and a tax attached to every sold vaccine. I have done a lot of work on the calculus determining a tax or levy. Having to project out for 10 years, adjusting for the decline in the sales of the vax after year 4 (demand drops) yet costs continue to increase, I calculate the tax would be in the neighborhood of $2.65 for the current level of COVID-19 vaccines administered (325 million) which should bring in a total of approximately $860 million per year. In comparison, The NVICP pays out an average of $225 million per year. And we must prevent any access or dipping into the existing trust fund to help pay for COVID vax injuries. It will bankrupt the fund quickly. The damage award totals are going to dwarf the totals from the NVICP.
A Judicial Process. The program must establish from the very beginning, the process shall be governed by the rules of our federal court system and not an administrative process. Petitioners must have the ability to appeal to a higher court for decisions, similar to the NVICP.
Compensation. The number reported in VAERS for serious adverse events are staggering. And the figures represent a massive underreporting. Because of the complexity and severity of the serious AE’s, I expect the cost of medical care for future needs will result in large damage awards. Our government awards many large annuity damage awards within the NVICP. There is a template. The difference will be the dramatic increase in the number of awards. No claw-back or last payor mechanisms. Death and pain & suffering limits will need to be increased from the $250,000 to at least $750,000 if not $1 million.
Attorney Fees and medical expert fees shall be reimbursable and without the delay that is common in the NVICP due to low staffing. The long delays forces many attorneys in essence, carry credit lines of $1 million or more if they are working on many complex cases at the same time.
Staffing. It is very apparent that staffing levels within HRSA are abysmal. Thus leading to lengthy initial medical reviews (1 year or greater). This is before the off-table cases are assigned to a special master. Increased staffing in HRSA will allow for removal of delays in payment to petitioners for damage awards as well.
In the Office of Special Masters within the Federal Court of Claims, there are currently 8 special masters plus their associated staff. It is really apparent that in order to handle the huge tidal wave of claims, Congress needs to expand to at least 16 if not 20 special masters. Yes there will be a lot of push back, but we should address the large number of claims first before worrying about territorial battles and seniority.
Department of Justice Civil Torts Division needs to expand by at least 200% of the number of attorneys who represent the government. Too much burnout leads to turnover leads to delays in hiring a new attorney and getting them up to speed on the procedures of the NVICP.
All of these staffing issues requires a lot of money, millions and the only way to keep the program from grinding to a halt is to have a dedicate source of funding.
These are some of the major concepts that need to be addressed by Congress. It is going to be a rough ride, a long dusty road to travel. Hopefully we can accomplish this, because those who are injured from all vaccines, need help.
Keep learning, keep challenging yourself and always, always question authority.