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Covid vaccine blood clot victims 'have to prove 60pc disability' to receive damages

Blood clot victims of the coronavirus vaccine are being told they will have to prove they are at least 60 per cent disabled to receive damages from the Government of up to £120,000.

The threshold has caused concern among some families affected, and MPs said ministers had a “moral duty” to review a requirement which could “bar a lot of deserving people from any compensation”.

People can apply for damages under the Government-run vaccine damage payments scheme which covers jabs for 19 diseases including tetanus, tuberculosis and mumps. Covid-19 was added to the list shortly after the first jabs were approved.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has linked the AstraZeneca to a small number of blood clots among those vaccinated.

A review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency last week found that 168 people had suffered from blood clots after being jabbed - 32 of whom had died.

However the proportion represented a tiny minority of the 21.2 million doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine administered in the UK and the MHRA said that the benefits still outweighed the risks.

Official figures disclosed to the Telegraph show that by the end of last week there had been 43 applications relating to the two Covid-19 vaccines currently being processed. No payments made so far.

Under the scheme’s rules, victims “will need to prove, on the balance of probabilities, that the vaccination caused the disability and be assessed as being 60 per cent disabled”.

The concern is that the requirement will mean dozens of families might find that they cannot qualify for damages.

The Government insisted that the scheme is “not a compensation scheme. Rather, it provides a one-off, tax-free lump sum - currently £120,000 - for those suffering a severe disability as a result of a vaccine against a disease listed under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act”.

It added that “the scheme does not preclude claimants from seeking compensation from the relevant vaccine manufacturer”.  Families of those who have died can also make claims under the scheme.

However Tory MP Sir Christopher Chope urged the Government to review the need to prove 60 per cent disability for applicants to the scheme.

He said: “The Government has a moral duty to compensate people who have suffered as a result of doing the right thing by the Government of being vaccinated.

“They were being vaccinated for the public good - it is not as though they are jay-walking across the street at their own risk.

“The Government needs to look at these cases and reduce the threshold. If it is left as it is it is going to bar a lot of deserving people from any compensation.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “Vaccines are safe, effective and already saving thousands of lives.

“More than 32 million people have now received a first dose of the vaccine, and PHE have estimated over 10,000 lives have been saved through the vaccine programme so far.

“All vaccines being used in the UK have undergone robust clinical trials and have met the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) strict standards of safety, effectiveness and quality.

“The vaccine damage payments scheme provides a financial safety net to help ease the burden on individuals who have, in extremely rare circumstances, experienced harm due to receiving a government-recommended vaccine for a listed disease.”

All claims must be filed within six years of receiving the vaccination in question. Time taken to assess a case varies depending on individual circumstances.

Reference: The Telegraph: Christopher Hope  1 day ago