Vaccine Injury

The Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) publishes monthly updates on vaccine injury claims under the National Vaccine Injury Program (VICP). On January 1, 2020, it published year-end data for 2019.

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Getting the flu shot is important. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend it for most people, and scientific research has shown that the flu shot protects millions of Americans against influenza each year.

However, getting the flu shot can also result in adverse reaction.

While getting the flu shot can help reduce your risk of getting sick, it does not guarantee protection against influenza. Over the past decade, the flu shot’s overall vaccine effectiveness (VE) rating has ranged from 19 to 60 percent, and each year millions of Americans still choose not to get vaccinated.

There are right and wrong ways to administer vaccines. Although giving someone a flu shot may seem like a fairly straightforward process, mistakes during immunizations are common, and these mistakes often lead to a class of injuries known as Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration (SIRVA). One of the most-common mistakes that can lead to SIRVA is inserting the needle too high on the patient’s arm.

What is the Proper Location for Administering a Flu Shot?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides guidelines for proper administration in a book titled, Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, also known as the “Pink Book.” The Pink Book

For individuals diagnosed with vaccine-related injuries and illnesses, securing financial compensation often involves filing a claim under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP). If you or a loved one has been diagnosed, here are seven key facts for you to know:

1. The NVICP is a Federal Government Program Created Specifically to Compensate Individuals Diagnosed with Vaccine Injuries

Congress established the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) in 1988 for the sole purpose of providing a source of financial compensation for individuals diagnosed with vaccine-related injuries and illnesses. The NVICP is funded by a tax on vaccines, and it offers a time and cost-efficient alternative to filing a traditional lawsuit against a healthcare provider or pharmaceutical company.

For individuals with questions about vaccines, Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) are a good place to find reliable information. Vaccine Information Statements are documents published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that, “inform vaccine recipients – or their parents or legal representatives – about the benefits and risks of a vaccine they are receiving.

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims (also known as the Vaccine Court) is on pace to issue a record number of awards under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) in 2019. As of June 1, the Vaccine Court has issued 404 awards to vaccine recipients, totaling nearly $145 million in compensation. If the rate of awards continues, 2019’s total will surpass the previous one-year high, which was 706 awards in 2017.

Each year, hundreds of people seek financial compensation for vaccine-related injuries and illnesses. Many more suffer injuries and illnesses that are never reported; and, as researchers continue learn more about the risks associated with different types of vaccinations, more types of injuries and illnesses are being recognized as vaccine-related.

There are two primary ways that vaccine recipients can experience complications from their immunizations: (i) adverse reactions to vaccine ingredients, and (ii) errors during vaccine administration.

1. Adverse Reactions to Vaccine Ingredients

Individuals who experience adverse reactions to vaccine ingredients can face a variety of medical consequences.

Each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) choose the specific strains to be targeted with the annual flu shot based upon an examination of thousands of influenza virus samples collected from patients worldwide. The selection process is not easy, and the challenges involved in choosing the most-effective formulation of the flu vaccine in any given year are largely to blame for the flu shot’s limited effectiveness in recent years.

Now, however, scientists may have found a more-effective way to choose vaccines for future seasons. Using new “HINT” technology, scientists believe that it may now be possible to better identify the flu strains that most likely to infect people year to year.

“SIRVA,” or “shoulder injuries related to vaccine administration,” describes a set of injuries that are linked to errors during the vaccine injection process. These injuries are entirely unrelated to the ingredients of the vaccines being injected; instead, they result from improper administration such as inserting the needle too high on the arm or too deep into the shoulder.