End the Vaccine Carveout Act

This bill ends special legal protections for vaccine makers and providers. It lets people sue in State or Federal court for vaccine-related injuries or deaths, even if they did not file a claim in the federal vaccine compensation program first. You must choose one path: if you win money in court, you can’t get money from the program for the same injury, and if you get paid by the program, you can’t sue for the same injury. It also removes the usual filing deadlines so people can apply to the program at any time, and makes that change apply to past cases, too. The bill also removes parts of the law that limited lawsuits and adjusts related fee and payment rules in the program. Finally, it says COVID-19 vaccines are not included in the law’s “covered countermeasure” protections, so those special shields would not apply to them.

Key points

• Who is affected: People seeking help for vaccine-related injuries or deaths; vaccine manufacturers and providers; and COVID-19 vaccines specifically .
• What changes: You may sue in state or federal court; no “double-dipping” between court and the federal program; time limits to file program claims are removed; some limits on lawsuits are repealed; COVID-19 vaccines lose special liability protections .
• When: The right to sue starts on the date the bill becomes law; the new no-deadline rule applies to earlier injuries and deaths as well .