UK to cover COVID-19 vaccine side-effects under damages scheme as a 'precautionary step'

UK government will compensate individuals who suffer any severe side-effects from COVID-19 vaccines under an existing programme, the government said on December 3. In a statement, British authorities said that COVID-19 would be added as a "precautionary step" to the list of diseases covered for potential liabilities under the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme (VDPS). The announcement comes as the Boris Johnson government gave emergency authorization to Pfizer-BioNTch vaccine with an aim to start inoculation as early as next week.  

According to British Health officials, the vaccines would be deployed only after stringent checks. However, if anything goes wrong, all affected individuals are entitled to a sum capped at 120,000 pounds ($161,676) if they can prove to have been seriously disabled as a result of a vaccination. As per the health officials, the scheme was meant to dissuade people from seeking compensation through lengthy and costly court proceedings, However, experts have slammed the scheme for its restrictive conditions.

"Adding diseases to the VDPS is not new and numerous diseases have been added as successive governments have rolled out more immunisation programmes, such as HPV and Meningitis B," the government said in a statement. 

Read: 'We Are Hard At It': Canada Plans To Start COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery By January

Read: PM Modi Announces 'Covin' Software For Covid Vaccine Information & Tracking In India

Priority list

British officials have unveiled their priority list for the first phase of its distribution. According to a press release, care home residents and their carers would be a topmost priority to receive vaccine shots followed by elderly and frontline workers. Two groups, which would not receive the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine would include children below the age of 16 and pregnant women, owing to health risks.

Read: US Expert Fauci Apologises For Doubting UK's Vaccine Approval, Cites 'misunderstanding'

According to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the vaccine won’t be “generally available for children.” Clarifying the reason for the exception, the committee explained that most children have the mild and asymptomatic disease. “However it will be available for "those children at very high risk of exposure and serious outcomes, such as older children with severe neuro-disabilities that require residential care,” the committee explained.

Read: As UK Approves Pfizer-BioNtech's COVID-19 Vaccine, Here's Who Will Get Vaccinated First