Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday he is working to overhaul the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which is aimed at compensating people who have been injured by vaccines.
“The VICP is broken, and I intend to fix it. I will not allow the VICP to continue to ignore its mandate and fail its mission of quickly and fairly compensating vaccine-injured individuals,” Kennedy wrote in a lengthy post on social platform X.
Kennedy has long targeted the VICP, and his X post echoed many of his previous arguments.
He has previously said he wants to expand the program, making it easier for claimants to qualify for awards based on adverse events he claims are associated with vaccines but are not currently part of the program.
Congress created the VICP in 1986 as part of a law that required health providers and manufacturers to report vaccine adverse events to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The program is designed to provide fair and quick payouts for children and pregnant women who suffer rare but serious side effects from shots. It also provides a liability shield to manufacturers to encourage them to continue making vaccines.
The VICP is “no fault,” so families can get compensation without having to prove that drugmakers were negligent. Plaintiffs petition a special court system where government officials known as special masters, who operate like judges, rule on cases without juries.
Successful plaintiffs get money from the federal government, not vaccine manufacturers. The compensation trust fund comes from an excise tax on recommended vaccines, but the amount of money plaintiffs can win is capped.
The program also makes it easier to sue manufacturers in other courts.
Kennedy, who founded a prominent anti-vaccine group, has pushed the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism and has been involved in suing vaccine makers over patient injury claims, has said the VICP removes any incentive for drug companies to make safe shots.
“The VICP no longer functions to achieve its Congressional intent,” Kennedy wrote. “I will not allow the VICP to continue to ignore its mandate and fail its mission of quickly and fairly compensating vaccine-injured individuals.”
Kennedy did not elaborate on what changes he is making but said he is working with Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Earlier this month, during an interview with Tucker Carlson, Kennedy said he has a team at the HHS working on expanding the VICP.
“We just brought a guy in this week who is going to be revolutionizing the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program,” Kennedy said.
“We’re looking at ways to enlarge the program so that COVID vaccine-injured people can be compensated … we’re looking at ways to enlarge the statute of limitations,” Kennedy added.
