126th Morrison Congress

2nd Session

H.R. 126-081

Title of the Bill: National Childhood Vaccine Injury

Main Author(s): Rep. Josephine Chen (CT-5), Representative Erick Huang(CT-2)

Co-Sponsor(s):

BE IT ENACTED BY THE MORRISON CONGRESS

1 SECTION 1: Findings
2 Congress makes the following findings:
3 1) A Pew Research survey conducted in 2014 found that 68% of U.S. adults
4 agree that all children should be required to be vaccinated, while 30% say
5 vaccinating children should be a parental choice [1]
6 2) The CDC estimates that vaccinations will prevent more than 21 million
7 hospitalizations and 732,000 deaths among children born in the last 20 years
8 [2]
9 3) Last season, coverage among healthcare personnel working in long-term
10 care facilities increased five percentage points (to 69 percent), but was still
11 the lowest among all health care provider groups. The early coverage
12 estimate for those providers this season (55 percent) is still the lowest among
13 all health care providers [3]
14 4) Flu vaccination coverage among adults decreased by 1.9 percentage points
15 for the 2015-16 season compared with the 2014-15 season [4]
16
17 SECTION 2: Purpose
18 The purpose of this bill is to preserved the right for vaccine injured persons to bring a
19 lawsuit in the court system if federal compensation is denied or is not sufficient
20
21 SECTION 3: General Provisions:
22 This bill will allow the right of vaccine injured persons to file lawsuits in a
23 court-system with a jury if federal compensation from the US Court of Federal
24 Claims is denied or insufficient.
25 Claims are judged to be insufficient if compensation doesnt pay for at most half of
26 their medical expenses.
27 Claimants can get at most $250,000 in compensation.
28 The Claimant must be suffering from an injury that can be proven to be caused from
29 a vaccine that coincides with the list in the Vaccine Injuries Table(the Table),and
30 the following conditions have to be meant as a symptom of the claimant:
31 1. had residual effects or complications lasting for more than 6 months
32 2. resulted in inpatient hospitalization and surgery
33 3. resulted in death.
34 For claimants that filed lawsuits because of injury, the following must be enacted in
35 order for a lawsuit to be filed:
36 1. the effects must have continued at least 6 months after vaccine
37 administration
38
39 For claimants that filed lawsuits because of inpatient hospitalization and surgery, the
40 following must be enacted in order for a lawsuit to be filed:
41 1. the claim must be filed within 36 months after the first symptoms appeared.
42
43 For claimants that filed lawsuits because of death, the following must be enacted in
44 order for a lawsuit to be filed:
45 1. the claim must be filed within 24 months of the death and within 48 months
46 after the onset of the vaccine-related injury from which the death occurred.
47 The following vaccines are covered:
48 Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTP, DTaP, DT, TT, or Td), measles, mumps, rubella
49 (MMR or any components), polio (OPV or IPV), hepatitis B, Haemophilus
50 influenzae type b (Hib), varicella (chicken pox), rotavirus and pneumococcal
51 conjugate vaccines.
52 This bill allows for those who have fulfilled the conditions above to file a lawsuit
53 directly against vaccine manufacturers, provided that it was indeed the vaccine that
54 caused the injury.
55
56
57
58 SECTION 4: Definitions:
59
60 Vaccine Injuries Table(the Table): Refers to a chart listing the most common
61 vaccines or immunizations administered, such as DTaP vaccine, MMR vaccine,
62 varicella (chickenpox) vaccine, and polio vaccine for children, the human
63 papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine (Gardasil) for adolescents and young adults,
64 tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis booster vaccines for adults, and the seasonal flu
65 vaccine for persons of all ages.
66
67 Diphtheria: A serious bacterial infection that affects the mucous membranes of the
68 throat and nose
69 Tetanus: A serious bacterial infection that affects the nervous system and causes
70 muscles throughout the body to tighten.
Pertussis (DTP, DTaP, DT, TT, or Td): Known as whooping cough, is a highly
contagious respiratory disease
Measles: A highly contagious respiratory infection that's caused by a virus. It causes
a total-body skin rash and flu-like symptoms, including a fever, cough, and runny
nose
Mumps: A viral disease caused by the mumps virus. Initial signs and symptoms often
include fever, muscle pain, headache, and feeling tired
Rubella (MMR or any components): A contagious disease caused by a virus. Most
people who get rubella usually have a mild illness, with symptoms that can
include a low-grade fever, sore throat, and a rash that starts on the face and
spreads to the rest of the body
Polio (OPV or IPV): An infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. In about 0.5
percent of cases there is muscle weakness resulting in an inability to move.
Hepatitis B: a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus
(HBV)
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib): Bacteria that can cause infections in people of
 all ages ranging from mild, such as an ear infection, to severe, such as a
bloodstream infection.
Varicella (chicken pox): a very contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster
virus (VZV)
Rotavirus: A contagious virus that can cause gastroenteritis
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines: vaccine used to protect infants, young children,
and adults against disease caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae

Works Cited:
1. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/17/5-facts-about-vaccines-in-the-u-s/
2. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0424-immunization-program.html
3. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/p1207-flu-vaccine-coverage.html
4. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/fluvaxview/coverage-1516estimates.htm