UK to provide financial aid incase of 'severe disability' after COVID vaccine inoculation

As the Boris Johnson administration announced the authorization of the first COVID-19 vaccine on December 2, UK rolled out support for those who might report a Severe Adverse Event (SAE) from the inoculation such as physical impairment. In an official joint statement issued by the Joint UK Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and UK health departments on immunization, the government stated that anyone who suffered disability after taking the coronavirus vaccine can seek financial assistance through the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme (VDPS). 

“In advance of a rollout of an authorized COVID-19 vaccine and in line with other immunisation programmes, the government is taking the precautionary step to ensure that in the very rare possibility where someone is severely disabled as a result of taking a COVID-19 vaccine, they can access financial assistance through the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme (VDPS),” the official statement from UK government read.

Further, UK government stressed that the vaccines manufactured by New York-based company Pfizer in collaboration with Germany’s BioNtech was tested safe in the human clinical trials with 95 per cent efficacy. The UK department of health emphasized that the vaccine candidates had “rigorous clinical trials involving tens of thousands of people and extensive analysis of the vaccine's safety, quality and effectiveness by experts from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).” The UK government authorized vaccines after completion of a regulatory process known as a ‘rolling review’. The process follows the shortest route for the complete assessment of a promising medicine or vaccine during a public health emergency.

MHRA Chief Executive, Dr. June Raine said, "We are globally recognized for requiring high standards of safety, quality, and effectiveness for any vaccine. Our expert scientists and clinicians worked tirelessly, around the clock, carefully, scientifically, robustly, and rigorously poring over hundreds of pages and tables of data, methodically reviewing the data."

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To begin immunization next week

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care, UK, said that the government plans to begin the immunization starting next week, as he confirmed, that PM Boris Johnson has accepted the recommendation from the Independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve Pfizer. He added, that the MHRA experts declared that the vaccines met “strict standards” of safety, quality and effectiveness, and the NHS was ready to deliver a large-scale vaccination programme.

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UK announces financial support incase someone is 'severely disabled' after COVID-19 vaccine inoculation