The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program: A Program Evaluation [Redacted Version]

Abstract

To address these concerns and simultaneously encourage parents to have their children vaccinated, Congress enacted the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act (the Act). The Act consists of two parts: (1) the National Vaccine Program, which is concerned with improving vaccines, monitoring and tracking adverse reactions to vaccines, and supporting efforts by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to improve immunization programs; and (2) the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP), which establishes a no-fault compensation program designed to efficiently and expediently compensate vaccine-injured children and their families. This paper primarily focuses on the NVICP as it is today and proposes recommendations to improve an innovative alternative to tort litigation.