When the federal government decides which injuries a vaccine is presumed to cause, that list shapes who can seek compensation and how.
The design of such a table carries real legal weight.
In the STAT article RFK Jr. Plans to Create List of Injuries Caused by Covid-19 Vaccines, the publication reported that the Department of Health and Human Services is preparing a rule to catalog injuries presumed to be caused by COVID-19 shots. Affected individuals could then seek compensation from the government. Richard H. Hughes, IV, Member of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice of Epstein Becker Green, assessed the proposal's legal footing.
The planned rule would create a table for COVID-19 countermeasures, a formal list that establishes a presumption of causation for the conditions it names. The agency expects to propose the rule in November, with a comment period ending in early 2027. The approach parallels a separate federal compensation program that currently does not cover COVID-19 vaccines.
Hughes, who represents plaintiffs challenging the secretary's vaccine policy changes, said a table would fit the evidence-based compensation system Congress designed. Still, he flagged a risk in how broadly the rule's standard could be read.
"That is concerning because, if read broadly, the Secretary could make a scientifically unsound table decision and then argue that no court can review it."
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To discuss this perspective, contact Richard H. Hughes, IV at RHHughes@ebglaw.com.
