The short answer is yes. But so do many other medicines that we commonly consume. A drug is considered to be safe if it has a proven benefit that outweighs its harmful side effects. For vaccines, the potential for a harmful reaction is very unlikely and the public health benefits are significant.
A vaccine works by provoking one’s immune system and then presenting something that looks a lot like a dangerous virus or bacteria. The immune system is then prepared to recognize and defend against exposure to the real pathogen. But anytime the immune system is challenged, such as by trauma or infection or a vaccine, the potential is there for it to fail or malfunction, especially if the person has some underlying genetic or other susceptibility.
The Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (CVICP) is a law enacted by Congress in 1987. Vaccine manufacturers complained that product liability tort claims were making their vaccine business less profitable and threatened to quit marketing them altogether. To protect public health and Big Pharma, Congress stepped in and granted manufacturers and physicians immunity from tort lawsuits. However, Congress also created a ‘no-fault’ compensation program for persons injured by a vaccine; ‘no-fault’meaning that compensation may be awarded without requiring proof that the manufacturer or physician was negligent or that the vaccine was unsafe, as is required in a tort case.
A person injured by a vaccine files a claim against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the Federal Court of Claims in Washington, D.C. He or she must prove that the vaccine was probably the cause of the injury. If successful, compensation is paid out a fund created by a 75-cent fee added to the cost of the vaccine.
Claims against doctors, pharmacies and vaccine manufacturers are not allowed; medical malpractice lawsuits, for example, are prohibited in almost all circumstances. Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, 562 U.S. 223 (2011).
The difficulty of proving that a vaccine caused a person’s injury depends on the type of vaccine, the type of injury, and the timing between the vaccine and first symptoms. For some claims, the medical specialists and scientists have confirmed a causal link between some vaccines and particular injuries. The law gives these claims a head start: a presumption of causation if the injury began within a specific time following a vaccine. These are commonly referred to as Table Injuries because they are on a chart published by HHS.
For example, the Pertussis vaccine, the “P” in the Dtap or Tdap vaccine, is presumed to have caused Brachial Neuritis, Encephalitis, Anaphylaxis or Shoulder Injury if the symptoms begin within a specific window of time. Most of the vaccines routinely given to children are associated with at least one type of injury.
There are only a handful of Table Injuries because standard scientific tests and clinical studies are not designed to detect very rare events like vaccine injuries. But medical specialists and scientists can nevertheless state with confidence that such injuries can and do occur based on the understanding of how the immune system can malfunction following a vaccine. Claims for these injuries are referred to as “Non-Table Claims”, and they are not afforded the presumption of causation given to Table Claims.
Most of the Non-Table Claims are auto-immune or auto-inflammatory conditions. These claims usually require extensive expert testimony to explain the complex immunology involved in vaccine injury causation.
If you or a loved one has suffered a vaccine injury, contact the experienced vaccine injury attorneys at Ragsdale LLC for a free, no-obligations legal consultation by calling us at 205-290-6800. Or ask us to contact you by using our free vaccine injury contact form.