The Informed Consent Action Network filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on March 20 requesting the addition of more than 300 conditions to the Vaccine Injury Table.
The petition argues that the current table, which lists 47 conditions, is outdated and that failure to update it constitutes an ongoing violation of federal law. The filing states that the secretary must refer the petition to the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines unless it is deemed frivolous, and that the commission has 180 days to make recommendations before rulemaking must begin, according to the petition filing.
The lead attorney for the petition reportedly had more than 100 vaccine injury cases pending before the compensation program. A separate firm that received a $410,000 sole-source federal contract to consult on overhauling the program had more than 60 pending cases in the same program, according to a January letter from U.S. senators to the health secretary.
Adding broad new categories of vaccine injury claims could result in a docket exceeding $100 billion. The federal compensation program has awarded $5.4 billion since 1988 and its trust fund holds more than $4 billion, funded by a $0.75 excise tax per vaccine dose, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration.
The Informed Consent Action Network was founded to advance transparency in health policy and vaccine safety, according to the organization. Siri serves as legal counsel for ICAN and filed the petition on behalf of both ICAN and individuals represented in the program. The petition cites a 2012 Institute of Medicine report commissioned by the department.
