The following is from Children’s Health Defense.
Two women, with support from Children’s Health Defense (CHD), are suing the government agency that oversees the compensation program for Covid vaccine injuries.
Angela K. McInish and Christina Gay Fible say they developed debilitating injuries after receiving Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines. They allege the program violated their constitutional rights by setting eligibility criteria so restrictive that neither woman qualifies for compensation.
The lawsuit, filed against the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), challenges the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), alleging it violates constitutional due process and equal protection guarantees by leaving injured individuals with no legal remedy.
CICP was established under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act and processes claims for injuries related to medical countermeasures, including Covid vaccines, administered during a public health emergency.
The PREP Act shields Covid vaccine manufacturers, healthcare workers, and others who administer the shots from liability for most injuries. As a result, people injured by Covid vaccines cannot sue in regular court and must file a claim with CICP within 12 months of injury.
CICP says it “provides compensation for covered serious injuries or deaths.” However, the plaintiffs’ attorney, Ray Flores, said the program’s definition of “serious physical injury” is arbitrary.
“It is fundamentally unjust and unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution for someone to suffer substantial injury and have absolutely no path to recovery or accountability.”
— Mary Holland, CEO, Children’s Health Defense
Federal guidelines define a “serious physical injury” as one that is life-threatening, causes permanent impairment or damage, or requires medical or surgical intervention to prevent permanent harm. McInish and Fible allege their injuries severely affected their ability to work and live normal lives but fall below that threshold.
“Potentially millions of people have suffered tremendous harms that the government does not consider ‘serious’ and have been left without any remedy.”
— Kim Mack Rosenberg, General Counsel, Children’s Health Defense
McInish, who lives in Georgia, and Fible, who lives in Indiana, filed their lawsuit in US District Court for the District of Columbia. The suit names HRSA Administrator Thomas J. Engels in his official capacity and asks the court to declare CICP unconstitutional and order the compensation process opened to a broader range of injuries.
McInish received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine in 2021. She developed an autoimmune disorder, small fiber neuropathy, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome, tinnitus, and heart palpitations, leaving her unable to work. She reported more than 105 doctor appointments over a two-and-a-half-year period.
Fible received two doses of Moderna’s Covid vaccine in 2021. She said she developed high blood pressure, tachycardia, pelvic pain, tremors, leg numbness, weight loss, frequent urination, and insomnia, and had to sit upright for several months.
According to OpenVAERS, more than 1.5 million people reported Covid vaccine injuries that were not life-threatening or fatal and therefore do not qualify for compensation under CICP’s criteria.
Former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra ended the Covid public health emergency in May 2023 but later extended the PREP Act’s liability shield for Covid countermeasures through Dec. 31, 2029.
As of Dec. 1, CICP had compensated 42 Covid vaccine injury claims out of 14,046 filed — less than 0.3%. The median payout was $4,131.50.
“There has never been a successful challenge to CICP. A ruling that CICP’s narrow application process is unconstitutional could open the door for many more Covid vaccine injury victims to submit claims.”
— Ray Flores, attorney for the plaintiffs
For more information, read the full article here.
