ASSOCIATED PRESS (AP IMPACT): 'Vaccine court' keeps claimants waiting [View all]

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Last edited Tue Dec 30, 2014, 10:23 PM - Edit history (2)

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/637dbaa7b993454981320907b0972cf6/ap-impact-vaccine-court-keeps-claimants-waiting

AP IMPACT: 'Vaccine court' keeps claimants waiting (Part 1)

By MITCH WEISS, JUSTIN PRITCHARD and TROY THIBODEAUX
Nov. 17, 2014 1:37 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — A system Congress established to speed help to Americans harmed by vaccines has instead heaped additional suffering on thousands of families, The Associated Press has found.

The premise was simple: quickly and generously pay for medical care in the rare cases when a shot to prevent a sickness such as flu or measles instead is the likely cause of serious health complications. But the system is not working as intended.

The AP read hundreds of decisions, conducted more than 100 interviews, and analyzed a database of more than 14,500 cases filed in a special vaccine court. That database was current as of January 2013; the government has refused to release an updated version since.

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Caught in the middle are families that need help.

"The system is not working," said Richard Topping, a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney who defended the government against vaccine injury claims but resigned after concluding his bosses had no desire to fix the major flaws he saw. "People who need help aren't getting it."

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Associated Press Writer Serdar Tumgoren contributed to this report

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/af3ac36a464440858a743ac5c4929bec/ap-impact-vaccine-court-keeps-claimants-waiting

AP IMPACT: 'Vaccine court' keeps claimants waiting (Part 2)

By MITCH WEISS, JUSTIN PRITCHARD and TROY THIBODEAUX
Nov. 18, 2014 12:01 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — All but broken by her son's violent and unexplained seizures, by so many panicked trips from the crib to the emergency room, Jeffrey McCord's mom thought her desperate search for both answers and help was finally over.

A respected neurologist had drawn a connection that a dozen other doctors missed: Jeffrey's convulsions began days after a routine vaccination, the kind given safely to millions of American children.

While Jeffrey's injuries were devastating, his parents were told they might not have to bear the costs alone. The doctor explained that Jeffrey could apply for lifelong care paid for by the federal government. The program's premise is simple: quickly and generously support people in the rare cases when a shot to prevent a sickness such as flu or measles instead is the likely cause of serious health complications.

But 11 years would pass before the McCord family would receive its first check.

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Associated Press Writer Serdar Tumgoren contributed to this report.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3c4086243dab4322981817ded92cc346/feds-vows-publicize-vaccine-injury-help-program

Feds vows to publicize vaccine injury help program

By JUSTIN PRITCHARD and MITCH WEISS
Nov. 21, 2014 6:36 PM EST

Leaders of the nation's system for helping people hurt by a routine vaccination have vowed to better publicize the little-known program, while the judge who oversees the special vaccine court that handles injury claims worries that if more are filed, they will take even longer to handle than they already do.

The comments were made to government investigators, who released a report Friday about the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program several days after an Associated Press story detailed the program's problems.

Congress created the program to quickly and generously pay for medical care in the rare cases when a shot to prevent one sickness likely caused serious health complications instead. The AP found that the program has heaped additional suffering on thousands of families, including delays that have stretched a decade or more.

The Government Accountability Office's report noted how a program established a generation ago to help children injured by government-recommended vaccinations such as measles and chicken pox is now dominated by claims filed by adults who received a flu shot. Those cases typically claim that the adult suffered from Guillain-Barre Syndrome, in which the immune system attacks the nerves.

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Few suggestions have been implemented to date from a comprehensive publicity plan the program paid $300,000 for several years ago. Less than $20,000 of the program's $6.5 million annual budget is dedicated to public outreach.

One concern about publicizing the program is that the public might interpret a message that vaccines can cause harm, even if rarely, as a reason not to get vaccinated.

The GAO investigator who oversaw the report said program doctors began taking action on publicity only after the watchdog organization's inquiry began.

"They continue to express the concern that they don't want to do things that suppress vaccination rates. I understand that concern and it's a legitimate one, but nevertheless it's important that people who are receiving vaccinations are aware that this program exists," said GAO investigator Marcia Crosse.

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Pritchard reported from Los Angeles, Weiss from Greenville, South Carolina

http://bigstory.ap.org/author/mitch-weiss

http://bigstory.ap.org/author/justin-pritchard

Articles are dated December 22, 2014:

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/84b9d4be780c4972b8e77f53546188ad/court-heaps-grief-vaccine-victims-makes-them-wait-years
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/551119e210504cbfb46f98e5c1ea40c6/court-heaps-grief-vaccine-victims-makes-them-wait-years

http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/troy-thibodeaux