UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been challenged about the dire mess that is the UK vaccine damage payment scheme at Prime Minister’s Question Time on Wednesday, 22nd March 2023.
Following a question about the vaccine damage payment scheme by Sir Jeremy Wright MP, Sunak vowed to improve the scheme, and suggested that those who are vaccine damaged could litigate against the manufacturers of the vaccine for compensation.
Rishi Sunak: “[The vaccine damage payment scheme] does not prevent the injured person from pursuing a legal compensation claim with the vaccine manufacturer.”
This is despite the widely held belief that the Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers were given an indemnity against legal action by the various governments who signed up to buy their vaccines.
That House of Commons exchange in full:
Sir Jeremy Wright (Kenilworth and Southam) (Con):
My constituent, Jamie Scott, spent four weeks in a coma, and remains seriously disabled as a result of a covid vaccination. He and his family continue to believe that mass vaccination is the right policy, but it must surely also be right to ensure that the tiny minority who are seriously injured as a result are properly compensated. In the absence of court cases, it is in no one’s interest to litigate. The current limit on compensation is £120,000, even for very serious and lifelong injury, and anyone who is disabled by less than 60% gets nothing at all. That cannot be right. Will my right hon. Friend look urgently at changing that?
The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak:
It is important to start by recognising the importance of vaccines in protecting us all, not least the fantastic roll-out of the covid vaccines across the UK. I am very sorry to hear about the case my right hon. and learned Friend raises. In the extremely rare case of a potential injury from a vaccine covered by the scheme, a one-off payment can be awarded. That is not designed to be a compensation scheme, and it does not prevent the injured person from pursuing a legal compensation claim with the vaccine manufacturer. We are taking steps to reform vaccine damage payment schemes, by modernising the operations and providing more timely outcomes, but of course I would be happy to talk to my right hon. and learned Friend further about that.
Note that the UK is still using phrases like “extremely rare” and “tiny majority” in relation to the vaccine injured, whereas Germany seems to have decided that it is time to start a conversation about the huge numbers of post vaccination injuries and excess deaths that have been recorded in their country.
The Covid-19 vaccine scandal is one that dwarfs the Thalidomide tragedy. The consequences will be with us for generations to come.
