{"id":53129,"date":"2025-08-07T23:11:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T23:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/53129\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T23:11:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T23:11:10","slug":"rfk-jr-s-vow-to-overhaul-vaccine-injury-program-echoes-grievances-of-anti-vaccine-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/53129\/","title":{"rendered":"RFK Jr.’s vow to overhaul vaccine injury program echoes grievances of anti-vaccine movement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a> is vowing to \u201cfix\u201d the federal program for compensating Americans injured by vaccines, opening the door to sweeping changes for a system long targeted by anti-vaccine activists<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Health experts and lawyers say updates are needed to help clear a backlog of cases in the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, created by Congress in 1986 as a no-fault payment system for presumed vaccine injuries.<\/p>\n

But they also worry Kennedy\u2019s changes will reflect his history<\/a> as a leader in the anti-vaccine movement<\/a>, which has alternately called for abolishing the program or expanding it to cover unproven injuries<\/a> and illnesses that aren’t connected to vaccines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kennedy and other critics believe the program is \u201ctoo miserly in what it considers to be a vaccine injury,\u201d said Jason Schwartz, a public health expert at Yale University. \u201cThat\u2019s created great concern that he could expand what\u2019s included.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anti-vaccine groups have long suggested a link between vaccines and autism<\/a>, despite scientific consensus that childhood vaccines don\u2019t cause the condition. Adding autism to the list of injuries covered by the plan \u201cwould dramatically increase the number of compensable cases, potentially bankrupting it,” Schwartz said.<\/p>\n

Program is credited with saving the U.S. vaccine industry<\/p>\n

Signed into law under President Ronald Reagan, the compensation program is designed to provide quick, efficient compensation to Americans who report known injuries associated with vaccines, such as rare allergic reactions<\/a>. At the time of its creation, a number of vaccine-makers were exiting the business due to risks of class action lawsuits.<\/p>\n

In a recent social media post, Kennedy called the program \u201cbroken\u201d and accused federal lawyers and adjudicators who run it of \u201cinefficiency, favoritism and outright corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kennedy didn\u2019t specify the changes he’s seeking. But some of the people he\u2019s enlisted to help have a history of bringing vaccine injury cases.<\/p>\n

In June, the Department of Health and Human Services awarded a $150,000 contract to an Arizona law firm for \u201cexpertise\u201d in the program. The firm\u2019s Andrew Downing, an attorney specializing in vaccine injury cases, was listed in the HHS staff directory for a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just brought a guy in this week who is going to be revolutionizing the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program,\u201d Kennedy told Tucker Carlson shortly after the award.<\/p>\n

Revamping the program would be the latest in a string of decisions<\/a> that have upended U.S. vaccine policy, including this week’s cancellation of research funding<\/a> for vaccines<\/a> using mRNA technology<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Downing and Kennedy have had roles in HPV vaccine lawsuits<\/p>\n

Downing has had a leading role in lawsuits against Merck alleging injuries from its HPV vaccine, Gardasil, including a rare movement disorder.<\/p>\n

In a podcast last year for people with the condition, Downing lamented that the injury compensation program \u201chas taken a hard line\u201d against such cases, leading lawyers to file injury lawsuits in civil court. Approximately 70% of the Gardasil cases against Merck started as claims filed by Downing in the federal injury program, according to court records.<\/p>\n

A judge dismissed more than 120 of those cases, citing \u201ca paucity of evidence” that Gardasil caused patients’ problems.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for Kennedy declined to comment on Downing\u2019s hiring.<\/p>\n

Kennedy himself has been involved in the Gardasil litigation, as both an attorney and consultant.<\/p>\n

Before joining the government, Kennedy received payments for referring potential Gardasil clients to Wisner Baum, one of the law firms suing Merck. Following questions about the agreement during his confirmation hearings, Kennedy agreed to give up his stake in the deal and transfer any future fees to \u201ca nondependent, adult son,” according to his financial disclosures.<\/p>\n

One of Kennedy’s sons is an attorney at Wisner Baum.<\/p>\n

Experts see need for reform<\/p>\n

Experts who study vaccine compensation say real changes are needed to modernize the 40-year-old program.<\/p>\n

The cap on compensation remains $250,000 for injury or death, the same as in 1986. Similarly, the program still has eight adjudicators, known as special masters, to review all cases before the government. On average, the process takes two to three years.<\/p>\n

The fund has paid out $5.4 billion, compensating about 40% of all people who filed claims.<\/p>\n

The U.S. has an \u201cethical obligation\u201d to promptly pay those harmed by government-recommended vaccines, says Dorit Reiss, a professor at the University of California Hastings College of the Law.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlus, I think it increases trust in the vaccination program if you have quick, generous compensation,\u201d Reiss said.<\/p>\n

One possible change: Adding injuries<\/p>\n

As health secretary, Kennedy has broad powers to reshape the program.<\/p>\n

One approach could be adding new diseases and illnesses to the government table of payable injuries.<\/p>\n

In the early 2000s, the program ruled against more than 5,000 claims from families who said vaccines led to their children\u2019s autism, citing hundreds of scientific studies discrediting the link.<\/p>\n

Critics of Kennedy say he could claim that he has new evidence of harm \u2014 perhaps from a large autism study<\/a> he’s commissioned \u2014 and add the condition to the program.<\/p>\n

In response, the federal government might have to increase taxes on vaccines to replenish the compensation fund, which would make the shots more expensive and less accessible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you will start to watch the vaccine program infrastructure in this country disintegrate until someone steps in,\u201d Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine researcher at Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia who has clashed with Kennedy for years.<\/p>\n

A recent Senate hearing titled \u201cVoice of the Vaccine Injured\u201d appeared to make the case for expanding the program. Witnesses included two representatives from Children\u2019s Health Defense<\/a>, the nonprofit group that Kennedy previously chaired and has repeatedly sued the government over vaccines.<\/p>\n

The group\u2019s chief science officer, Brian Hooker, told lawmakers he tried unsuccessfully for 16 years trying to get compensation for his son\u2019s autism, which he attributes to the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine.<\/p>\n

Another possible change: Removing vaccines<\/p>\n

Another approach would involve removing certain vaccines from the program, making it easier to bring lawsuits against vaccine-makers. Under current law, people claiming injuries from vaccines covered by the program must first pursue a compensation claim before they can sue.<\/p>\n

In cases where the science doesn\u2019t support a connection to vaccines, lawyers might be more successful before a jury.<\/p>\n

\u201cJury trials take advantage of the fact that most jurors don\u2019t know anything about science or medicine,\u201d Offit said. \u201cThey are not going to be as easily moved by the data.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, attorneys who bring cases before the compensation program say the process has become more burdensome and adversarial over the years.<\/p>\n

Even small changes could improve things. For instance, the statute of limitations for claims could be extended beyond the current three years, which lawyers say cuts off many potential clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hoping there will be changes put in place that make the program easier for petitioners to navigate\u201d said Leah Durant, a vaccine injury attorney.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.<\/p>\n

Matthew Perrone, The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is vowing to \u201cfix\u201d the federal program for compensating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53130,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[35874,49,48,15262,35876,84,35877,35878,3436,35880,35879,35875],"class_list":{"0":"post-53129","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-andrew-downing","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-compensation","12":"tag-compensation-program","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-hpv-vaccine","15":"tag-jason-schwartz","16":"tag-robert-f-kennedy-jr","17":"tag-the-program","18":"tag-vaccine-injuries","19":"tag-vaccine-injury"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}