The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released new data regarding adverse events following COVID-19 vaccinations. According to the data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), there have been a total of 1,287,595 reports of adverse events between December 2020 and May 2022. This includes 28,532 deaths and 235,041 serious injuries.
VAERS is the primary government-funded system for reporting adverse vaccine reactions in the United States. The data shows an increase of 9,615 adverse events compared to the previous week.
Of the total number of adverse events, 825,454 were reported in the U.S. after excluding foreign reports. This includes 13,150 deaths and 83,454 serious injuries. Foreign reports are cases that foreign subsidiaries send to U.S. vaccine manufacturers, and if they describe a serious event that is not listed on the product's labeling, the manufacturer is required to submit the report to VAERS.
In terms of the timing of deaths, 16% occurred within 24 hours of vaccination, 20% occurred within 48 hours, and 59% occurred in individuals who experienced symptoms within 48 hours of being vaccinated.
The data also highlights the challenges faced by vaccine injury compensation programs. The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) and the Countermeasure Injuries Compensation Program (CICP) are overwhelmed with claims, leading to delays in compensation for injured individuals. The VICP lacks sufficient staff to handle the reported injuries, while the CICP has seen unsustainable growth in complaints related to COVID-19 vaccines.
Between 2010 and 2020, the CICP received only 500 complaints. However, since the start of the pandemic, it has received more than 8,000 complaints, with 5,000 of them related to COVID-19 vaccines. Despite this increase, the CICP has not paid any claims except for one approved in December 2021.
