Health secretary orders review of vaccine compensation scheme as claims rise

Victoria Atkins was urged to make changes to the scheme. Photo: Heathcliff O'Malley for The Telegraph

The Health Secretary has ordered a review of the vaccine compensation scheme following a surge in claims since the pandemic, The Telegraph reports.

Victoria Atkins has asked her department officials to develop options for reform Vaccine Damage Compensation Scheme (VDPS), which campaigners say is no longer fit for purpose.

It comes amid concerns that the scheme is struggling to cope after being overwhelmed by huge number of claims from those suffering side effects after Covid vaccines. .

There were 27 claims filed in 2019, followed by 26 in 2020 and 41 in 2021. The number rose to 480 in 2022 and 4,008 last year, according to the Department of Health.

Separate figures released under freedom of information requests show there were 11,022 applications to the scheme up to April 26 lawsuits over Covid vaccines.

Earlier this week, AstraZeneca acknowledged an apparent turnaround, documenting for the first time in court that a Covid vaccine may cause a rare side effect.

The pharmaceutical giant is facing a class-action lawsuit over claims that the jab, developed with Oxford University, has caused death and serious injury in dozens of cases. The government has protected AstraZeneca from any legal action but has so far refused to intervene.

Conservative MPs are calling on ministers to reform VDPS, which they say does not provide adequate compensation for those who have suffered serious side effects from the Covid vaccine and are left unable to work.

Esther McVey, minister without portfolio, is understood to have , is among those pressuring Ms Atkins to make changes to the scheme.

VDPS is awarding a one-off tax-free payment of £120,000 to people who have suffered serious injuries and the families of those killed. those who have died as a result of vaccination against certain diseases, including Covid. To be eligible for the payment, people must be classified as 60 per cent disabled.

Sir Jeremy Wright, the former attorney general, has raised concerns about the scheme with Ms Atkins, as well as Rishi Sunak.

He said the Government needed to act «quickly» to reform the scheme because the class action case against AstraZeneca was «not looking good», adding: «They can't ignore this problem — they have to confront it.»

Sir Jeremy said he believed mass vaccination was a «good thing» but stressed that people injured «should be looked after properly».

The Government should either get involved AstraZeneca and settle with the plaintiffs, or increase the amount plaintiffs receive under the VDPS program, he added.

“People's confidence in vaccination is critical,” he said. “If they don't think there's a safety net there, their confidence in the vaccine policy will decrease.”

Charlette Crichton, founder of UK charity CV Family, which supports those affected by the side effects of Covid vaccines, said the scheme was “outdated” and no longer fulfilled what it was created for.

«Ministers say you can use the £120,000 payment to fund litigation, but you can't do that because vaccine damage cases are long, protracted and expensive,» she said. «You'll need a couple of million to sue drug companies.»

Earlier this week it emerged that some families whose loved ones died after taking the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine have given up trying to sue the company after of how they were told they were likely to lose.

People whose relatives were harmed by the Jab vaccine have been thrown out of a High Court case after they were told they were unlikely to succeed in their claims because a pamphlet released at the height of the pandemic warned of a rare side effect associated with vaccine.

A document issued by vaccination centers states that “extremely rare cases of blood clots with low platelet counts have been observed after vaccination with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.”

Experts on legal affairs believe that this could potentially protect pharmaceutical products. against cases brought by families whose relatives received doses delivered after April 7, 2021.

A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said: “We have already expanded and modernized VDPS operations to allow cases to be processed more quickly, including including by digitizing the application process and increasing the number of administrative staff to ensure applicants receive results as quickly as possible.”