The Cornell Health Policy Center reported on March 18 that 78% of surveyed health policy experts said weakening vaccine manufacturer liability protections under the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) would substantially reduce pharmaceutical innovation.
The findings come as lawmakers consider changes to long-standing legal shields for vaccine makers. The survey polled more than 60 health policy researchers through the center's Insight Panel, with 58 of 62 panelists responding. Two-thirds said weakening manufacturer protections would increase prices for existing vaccines, while half said it would reduce clinicians’ willingness to administer vaccines.
The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has awarded more than $5 billion in compensation since 1988, funded by a $0.75 excise tax per vaccine dose, the Health Resources and Services Administration reported. The program was established under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 after lawsuits had driven all but one pertussis vaccine manufacturer from the U.S. market by 1985.
Senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee introduced the End the Vaccine Carveout Act in February, which would remove liability protections that have shielded vaccine manufacturers since 1986. Before those protections, lawsuits against pertussis manufacturers rose from one in 1978 to 73 in 1984, and vaccine prices increased as companies exited the market, according to the History of Vaccines Project.
The Cornell Health Policy Center is a partnership between the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and Weill Cornell Medicine, launched in 2025. Its Insight Panel comprises more than 60 researchers with full professor rank or equivalent at major institutions, some of whom hold membership in the National Academy of Medicine.
