To: nvicl@topica.com
From: Kathi Williams <kwilliams9@mindspring.com>

I just got a question about the difference between VAERS and the
compensation program. Here is my answer. I posted this to the list because I
think a lot of people get confused on this.

First of all do not confuse VAERS with the VICP.
VAERS is the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System which was set up to be
a centralized reporting system for all vaccine reactions, injuries or
deaths. It receives reports from anyone including parents but has nothing to
do with deciding who gets compensated.

VICP is the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and was set up under
PL-99-660 along with VAERS. When the CDC recommends a vaccine for universal
use it is then added to the compensation program. There is a table of
compensable events and if your injury fits into this table (includes time)
then it is presumed to be a vaccine injury. If the injury falls outside the
table of injuries and time then it is called an "off the table" case and you
have to prove your case much like you would in a court battle. The big
difference of course is that you are fighting the United States Government,
defended  by the Department of Justice, instead of a drug company. In a
lawsuit against a drug company there is a process called "discovery". This
is the fact finding part of the trial and an injured person can ask for all
the documents from the drug company that could be related to the product.
Again, this does not happen in the compensation program.
Vaccines are licensed on a fast track now a days and there is very little
study done on the front end. There are very few reports published in medical
journals discussing adverse events because the government and the drug
companies conduct the studies.
Vaccines now come into the program without events attached to them and it
forces people into an "off the table" situation. These cases are very
difficult to win.
Hope this helps
Kathi Williams

[National Vaccine Information Center Leaders List]