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Which Countries Have a Vaccine Injury Compensation Program?

Vaccines are safe, effective, have few risks, and are obviously necessary.

They aren’t perfect though, which is why “the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) may provide financial compensation to individuals who file a petition and are found to have been injured by a VICP-covered vaccine.”

But the NVICP is only in the United States.

Which Countries Have a Vaccine Injury Compensation Program?

What do other countries do?

The United States isn't the only country with a vaccine injury compensation program. We weren't even the first to have such a system.

You will likely be surprised to know that many have their own vaccine injury compensation programs, including:

  1. Germany ( year of introduction – 1961)
  2. France (1963)
  3. Japan (1970)
  4. Switzerland (1970)
  5. Denmark (1972)
  6. Austria (1973)
  7. New Zealand (1974)
  8. Sweden (1978)
  9. UK Vaccine Damage Payments Unit (1979)
  10. Finland (1984)
  11. Government of Québec Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (1985)
  12. United States NVICP (1988)
  13. Taiwan (1988)
  14. Italy (1992)
  15. Korea National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (1994)
  16. Norway (1995)
  17. Iceland (2001)
  18. Slovenia (2004)
  19. Hungary (2005)

Does this prove that vaccines are dangerous?

“Vaccines are extremely safe and harm is rare. World-wide, more than 30,000 vaccine doses are delivered per second through routine immunization programs, which,in turn, prevent an estimated 2 million to 3 million deaths annually. The occurrence of serious adverse events, such as those that result in death, threaten life, require inpatient hospitalization, or result in significant disability, are rare (eg, <1 adverse event occurs per 10 million doses for tetanus toxoid vaccines, 1-2 adverse events per 1 million doses for inactivated influenza vaccine, and none for hepatitis A).”

Halabi et al on A Global Vaccine Injury Compensation System

Of course not!

Remember, payouts from these programs, compared to the number of doses of vaccines given, are rare.

Should all countries have a compensation program?

“The most important justification, however, is an ethical argument from justice and equity: introduction of a vaccine injury compensation scheme acknowledges the unique situation that routine childhood immunization is a public health measure, given and accepted in good faith, that may occasionally damage the recipient.”

David Isaacs on Should Australia introduce a vaccine injury compensation scheme?

Sure.

People shouldn’t have to fight for compensation for the rare circumstance for when a true vaccine injury does occur.

More on International Vaccine Injury Compensation Programs

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