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"Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982."

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NVIC note from BL Fisher:

   The National Vaccine Information Center, on behalf of our Coalition, Americans for Vaccine Safety and Accountability, have been working closely with congressional staff on legislation to reform the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) created under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and his staff have been especially responsive to the needs and concerns of families with vaccine injured children as he has been negotiating with Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) on revisions to VICP reform legislation introduced by Senator Frist (S.15).

   Today, there was supposed to be a "markup" of a revised version of S. 15 that reflected a number of improvements in the original bill that had been worked out between Senators Dodd and Frist. The markup was abruptly canceled this morning. Many reasons have been given for the surprise cancellation including the fact that the war in Iraq prevented a quorum on the Committee from being assembled; there was no time to sort out which amendments were to be heard in Committee; not all language reflecting the late Tuesday night agreement between Senators Dodd and Frist made it into the bill language; as well as the rumor that vaccine manufacturers had played a role in ruining the agreement (see the article below).

   It is our understanding that Senators Dodd and Frist will resume their dialogue when Congress reconvenes on April 28 in a continuing bi-partisan effort to reform the federal vaccine injury compensation program. We will continue to work as hard as we can to secure as many rights and entitlements as we can for families of vaccine injured children in this legislation.

   Thank you to all the families of vaccine injured children who have taken the time and made the effort to make their voices heard on Capitol Hill. Your voices are being heard and it makes all the difference when legislation is being crafted at the state or federal level that your elected representatives know how much you care about what they do or don't do.

 www.washingtonpost.com

 Senate Delays Action on Nullifying Suits

 By LAURA MECKLER

 The Associated Press

 Wednesday, April 9, 2003; 12:14 PM

 WASHINGTON - A Senate committee Wednesday abruptly dropped plans to move  legislation nullifying hundreds of lawsuits claiming injury from childhood  vaccines, raising questions about whether a bipartisan deal to move the bill  was unraveling.  Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and  Pensions Committee, said action was being postponed because events in Iraq  had pulled away Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a committee member and  the bill's prime sponsor.  But Democrats said the postponement had more to do with objections lodged at  the last minute by two of the four major manufacturers of vaccines.  Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who led negotiations for Democrats, said he  was disappointed that the committee action was being postponed until after  the upcoming Easter break.  "We have worked very hard to work out a compromise to the satisfaction of  almost everyone here," Dodd said. "There may be some misunderstanding about  what some of the provisions of the bill do."  Under the legislation, more than 200 lawsuits filed by families who believe  their children were injured by vaccines would be sent instead to a special  federal fund.  Senators led by Frist say these cases always were intended for the Vaccine  Injury Compensation Program, but lawyers had found a way to skirt the  system.  The issue became contentious late last year when Republicans quietly slipped  the change at the last minute into homeland security legislation. Under  pressure, lawmakers undid the move in subsequent legislation, but vowed to  try again this year using standard legislative procedures.  Childhood vaccines are safe for almost all children, but a small number are  injured each year. Under current law, injured families must file claims  first with the compensation fund, where cases are independently evaluated,  before going to court. Average awards are just under $1 million.  If someone's claim is denied, or if the monetary award is considered  unsatisfactory, a lawsuit may be filed in federal or state courts.  Some families have found a way to skip the compensation fund and go directly  to court by claiming their children were harmed by a vaccine's ingredients,  rather than by the vaccine itself.  Specifically, many contend their children's autism is caused by a  preservative called thimerosal, which contains mercury and once was used in  the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine.  The Institute of Medicine, which gives expert advice to Congress, reviewed  the issue and said in 2001 it found no proof that autism is caused by the  MMR vaccine or by thimerosal. The report did say a link between thimerosal  and an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders is medically  plausible.  In any case, Frist, a physician, argues that these cases should have gone  through the compensation fund first, like other vaccine-related claims.  He said there are only two vaccine manufacturers in the United States and  just four worldwide because vaccines produce so little profit. The threat of  lawsuits will drive even more companies out of the business, he argued.  The bill improves the fund for families filing claims in several ways. It  would increase maximum amounts available for pain and suffering from  $250,000 to $350,000, increase the statute of limitations for filing claims  from three years to six years after the onset of the injury and, for the  first time, allow parents to file independent claims based on their  children's suffering.  Under the deal reached late Tuesday with Dodd, Republicans agreed to give  families a one-year window to enter the fund, even if they are outside the  new, six-year deadline for filing claims. That includes those with court  claims pending and those who never filed a case with a court or the fund.  A Democratic aide, who asked not to be identified, said that Merck and  Wyeth, two of the four major vaccine manufacturers, opposed the compromise  as being too generous to families. They wanted a stricter statute of  limitations.  The aide added that lobbyists for vaccine manufacturer Aventis and  pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly supported the compromise. Lilly is the  manufacturer of thimerosal and is facing several lawsuits that would be  moved to the fund under this bill.  The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program is financed by a 75-cent fee on each childhood vaccine administered.

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ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.