Smallpox Vaccine Injury Compensation

Publication Date: June 2003

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Health

Type:

Abstract:

Four and a half months after announcing his decision to vaccinate military personnel and front-line civilian health workers against smallpox, President George W. Bush, on April 30, 2003, signed the Smallpox Emergency Personnel Protection Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-20). Under the new law, the federal government will provide -- to eligible individuals (or their survivors), for covered injuries -- payment for related medical care, lost employment income, and death benefits.

Compensation had emerged as a major obstacle to the successful implementation of the Administration's smallpox vaccination program. Worker groups, public health experts, and others cited the lack of a clear and comprehensive compensation program as a primary reason for the lower than expected volunteer vaccination rate among health care workers.

The enacted legislation is modeled after the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program. It provides for compensation of individuals injured by vaccinations given as part of a countermeasure plan declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in preparation for potential hostile activities involving the smallpox virus.

This report will be updated as warranted.