Programs in countries around the world have begun quietly compensating people who have been injured by or died as a result of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Humans are biologically diverse, with respect to both genetic makeup and past environmental exposures. Because of this, explained neurologist Dr. Robert Lowry, people can react very differently to the same medication or vaccination. Whenever a new drug or biologic hits the market, some people will have bad reactions and others may even suffer serious adverse events as a result.
COVID-19 vaccines are no exception. Despite the fact that we are constantly and consistently assured that COVID-19 vaccines are safe, and that severe adverse reactions are “very rare,” the FDA and the CDC with its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, as well as the scientists and executives at each of the participating drug companies, know that some people will become permanently disabled or even die as a result of vaccination.
Not a Single Claim Compensated in United States
As of July 1, 2022, not a single claim has been compensated by the CICP. However, 31 COVID-19 countermeasure claims have been denied, “because the standard of proof for causation was not met and/or a covered injury was not sustained,” according to the CICP website. “One COVID-19 countermeasure claim, a COVID-19 vaccine claim due to an anaphylactic reaction, has been determined eligible for compensation and is pending a review of eligible expenses.”Japan Pays Bereaved Family of 91-Year-Old
The Japan Times reported this week that a 91-year-old woman who died after suffering an allergic response and sudden heart attack is the first person in Japan to be compensated for a COVID vaccine injury.A ministry of health panel ruled that a causal relationship “could not be denied” in her case. Her family will receive a lump sum worth approximately $325,000.
The panel reviewed another 11 cases ranging in age from 20s to 90s but did not reach any other ruling.
Taiwan Compensates 10 Claimants
On June 24, 2022, Taiwan’s National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program held a meeting to review 65 cases, according to the Taipei Times. The Taiwanese program awarded compensation to 10 claimants. These awards included a lump sum worth $116,877 to the family of someone who died after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.This patient was hospitalized 10 days after receiving the vaccine due to a headache and vomiting. Testing revealed thrombocytopenia, a sometimes-lethal blood disorder that is characterized by low platelets.
However, the patient was discharged the next day, only to return that evening after losing consciousness. The patient died of intracerebral hemorrhage, a common cause of stroke.
UK Pays Out for Vaccine Injuries
Vicki Spit was the first of a handful of people in the United Kingdom to be awarded compensation for injuries due to COVID vaccines, according to a June 24, 2022 article in the British Medical Journal.As quoted in the BMJ, Sarah Moore, a spokeswoman for the law firm representing the victims or their families, pointed out that though the awards will not do much to alleviate the financial hardships caused by the injuries, they constitute “the clearest statement yet, by the government, that in some rare instances the COVID-19 vaccines have caused very significant injury or death.”
Moore believes most of the compensation awards were for vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) or cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.
Canada Received More Than 700 Claims, Approved 8
According to Canada’s Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP), from June 1, 2021 to June 1, 2022, 774 claims have been received. Eight of these claims were “approved by the Medical Review Board,” meaning “these claims represent cases where it has been determined by the Medical Review Board that there is a probable link between the injury and the vaccine and that the injury is serious and permanent.”Post Shot Blood Clots
Thrombocytopenia can lead to blood clots as well as hemorrhaging. Thrombosis is another word for blood clots. Since it is very unusual for an otherwise healthy younger person to suffer from blood clots, the connection between the vaccines and this injury are difficult to refute.All three were healthcare workers who received the AstraZeneca vaccine, which Norway stopped administering on March 11, 2021, due to reports of serious blood clots, low platelet counts, and abnormal bleeding.
No Financial Assistance for Americans Harmed by Vaccines
Yet, while other countries are compensating people who have been injured by COVID-19 vaccines, America has yet to financially assist a single claimant. According to the Health Resources and Service Administration, as of July 1, 2022, the CICP had yet to award compensation to anyone for damages due to a COVID-19 vaccine.Thirty-one claims have been denied compensation because the “standard of proof for causation was not met and/or a covered injury was not sustained.”
A single claim on behalf of someone who suffered an immediate anaphylactic reaction has been deemed eligible for compensation but is pending a review of eligible expenses. For the majority of claims, the CICP is “still waiting for records and documentation to be submitted,” the website claims.
The AstraZeneca vaccine associated with so many of the injuries quietly compensated has not been made available in the United States.
These conditions account for only a small portion of the adverse events that have been reported to the CDC and the FDA. In order for people who have suffered from these adverse events to make a claim, a temporal association between the vaccine and the injury or some kind of causation must be established, as the Norwegian doctors and others did for VITT.
In the United States, we may wait a long time for science that establishes causation with respect to vaccine injuries.
For now, while other countries are quietly making amends, American families who have lost loved ones and Americans who have seen sharp declines in their health following COVID-19 vaccination have nowhere to turn.