Childhood Vaccine Injury Act Health Article

Definition

The Childhood Vaccine Injury Act established a federal program for compensating victims of vaccine-related injuries or death.

Purpose

During the early 1980s childhood immunization programs fell into chaos. Vaccine manufacturers and healthcare providers were overwhelmed with liability lawsuits from parents who believed that their children had been harmed by the DTP vaccine, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough). Companies that developed and produced vaccines halted or threatened to halt production and serious vaccine shortages developed. Childhood immunization rates fell.

To address this problem, physicians, public health agencies, the pharmaceutical industry, government representatives, and the parent-founded and -operated National Vaccine Information Center called for a no-fault alternative to litigation for resolving vaccine injury claims.

In response the U.S. Congress passed the Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 (PL 99-660). The purpose of the act was to do the following:

• establish the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) as a no-fault alternative to suits against vaccine manufacturers and healthcare providers
• provide victims with an accessible and efficient means of obtaining compensation
• reduce the costs of litigation
• ensure adequate supplies of vaccine
• stabilize the cost of vaccines
• help prevent vaccine injuries through education and a vaccine adverse event reporting system (VAERS)
• create incentives for developing safer vaccines

The Childhood Vaccine Injury Act was part of an initiative to immunize all children against potentially life-threatening diseases. The act was amended several times after its original passage.

Description

In addition to establishing the VICP, the Childhood Vaccine Injury Act requires that vaccination records be included in a patient's permanent medical record and that they include the following:

• date of vaccine administration
• vaccine manufacturer and lot number
• name, address, and title of the healthcare provider

The act also requires that doctors report all adverse events occurring within 30 days of vaccination to the VAERS. About 12,000 vaccine-related adverse reactions are reported annually; however, it is estimated that less than 10 percent of doctors file such reports.