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January 15, 2003

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Caregivers Protected Against Smallpox Lawsuits"

Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com) (01/15/03) P. A14; Connolly, Ceci

Federal health officials say that hospitals and health care workers who administer or receive the smallpox vaccine will not be held liable for adverse reactions to others.  But the Bush administration has refused to create a compensation fund for those who experience complications related to the smallpox vaccine, and Health and Human Services adviser D.A. Henderson fears that this could keep some people from getting vaccinated. Most states' workers' compensation programs will cover treatment of adverse effects, according to Michael Osterholm, the director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.  However, people who have been injured by the vaccine who live in states where the compensation does not apply would have to sue the federal government and prove negligence.  Nuclear Threat Initiative vice president Margaret Hamburg notes that the lack of a compensation fund combined with the lack of the right to sue leaves no recourse for patients inadvertently exposed to the vaccine by contact with a vaccinated person.

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