E-NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER

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UNITED WAY/COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN

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"Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982."

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PARENTS OF VACCINE INJURED CHILDREN WIN REMOVAL

OF COMPENSATION BILL FROM BIOTERRORISM LEGISLATION

March 19, 2003 - Washington, D.C. - Parents of vaccine injured children, many of whom believe their children developed autism after being exposed to mercury preservatives in childhood vaccines, rallied in the nation's Capitol today and heard welcome news: Senate leader Bill Frist (R-TN) agreed this morning to remove controversial language reforming the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) from Senate Bill 15 that addressed bioterrorism and smallpox vaccine compensation.

Parent groups had been working for more than a week

to convince members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that more time was needed to find a way to fix the 15-year old compensation program that was created under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986.

" We congratulate Senator Frist for separating out the pediatric vaccine injury compensation program from Senate Bill 15 which addresses bioterrorism. It gives more time to work on viable long term solutions," said Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-founder and President, National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC). "The National Vaccine Information Center, along with our coalition, Americans for Vaccine Safety and Accountability, look forward to working with Senator Frist and all the Senators and Representatives who care about vaccine injured children to make reform of the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program something parents can have faith in. True reform means opening the door to every vaccine injured child and leaving no child out because every child is deserving of compassion."

At the Capitol Hill rally, which was organized by Autism Autoimmunity Project, parents held up posters with pictures of their vaccine injured children and messages protesting language in Senate Bill 15 that would have cut off children injured before 1997 from accessing the federal compensation program or the civil justice system. At a press conference after the rally, Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN) introduced a bill to reform the VICP which included a one-time look back provision that would allow children injured before 1997 to access the compensation program. Burton expressed hope that language from his bill would be incorporated in the Frist bill.

The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act was passed by Congress in 1986 after vaccine manufacturers threatened to stop producing vaccines unless they were protected from vaccine injury lawsuits. Parents protested that it was not fair to abandon children hurt by government recommended vaccines. The 1986 law provided for a surcharge on vaccines that created a fund to pay for vaccine injuries. In the past 15 years, there have been more than 8,000 claims for vaccine injury filed but only 1794 awards being given for more than $1.4 billion. There is nearly $2 billion in the compensation trust-fund.

"Back in the 1980's, parents were told the compensation program would be a no-fault, less traumatic, more efficient and fairer alternative to bringing a lawsuit against the vaccine manufacturers or doctors," said Fisher. "We believed what we were told back then. We believed the system would work. But we were wrong. Over the past 15 years we have seen an erosion of public trust in the compensation program because it has broken down and become everything we were told it would not be."

Parents have criticized the Department of Health and Human Service and Department of Justice for fighting too many vaccine injury claims, which has resulted in two out of three vaccine victims being turned away without compensation for their injuries. Parents whose children have been awarded compensation have testified at congressional hearings that going through the system is like being subjected to a court trial without a jury and that it takes years to finally receive financial support.

Families are encouraged to continue to communicate with their members of Congress. On Thursday, March 27 Congressman Burton will hold a hearing on the vaccine injury compensation program at 1 p.m. in Room 2247 of Rayburn House Office Building.

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