Boy who said he developed narcolepsy after swine flu vaccine settles court case

irishtimes.com

4 points·walterbell··5 comments

Thanks to an act of Congress, nobody in the United States can sue the maker of a vaccine after being injured by that vaccine.

Think about that... and then ask why.

To incentivize vaccine manufacturers to produce vaccines that are affordable to the general populace.

In the US you do still have some recourse for injuries caused by vaccination: "The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program is a no-fault alternative to the traditional legal system for resolving vaccine injury petitions.

It was created in the 1980s, after lawsuits against vaccine companies and health care providers threatened to cause vaccine shortages and reduce U.S. vaccination rates, which could have caused a resurgence of vaccine preventable diseases."

https://www.hrsa.gov/vaccine-compensation/index.html

Doesn't it incentivize development of "mostly safe" vaccines, over "completely safe but more expensive". As long as the number of litigants remains low, it could be more cost effective to pay them off.

I would think so, yes, although I doubt that "completely safe" is an achievable reality.

It’s the same in the EU, at least regarding AstraZeneca

> The EU contract also says the Commission can't sue if there are any unforeseen issues with the safety or efficacy of the vaccine, or if there are problems with the storage, transport or administration of the vaccine.

Source: https://www.politico.eu/article/coronavirus-vaccine-europe-c...

My opinion on why this is, is because these vaccines have been developed at breakneck speeds using a pretty new technique (mRNA). I believe we don’t know yet if there could be any long-term adverse effects. If there would be and lawsuits were allowed, it could instantly destroy the company, given how many people will be inoculated in the coming year(s).

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