Dr. Arahman raised an important yet difficult issue.
Bottom-line: workers’ compensation at your jurisdiction would likely take care of almost all covid vaccine related injuries that could be a potentially huge cost for healthcare
organizations and employers to bear, be it vaccination volunteer or mandatory. The federal VICP does not cover Covid vaccine related injuries- at least unlikely to prevail in court due to “immunity clause”, statutes of limitations, and many legal hurdles.
One cannot sue government, Pfizer/Moderna etc. due to legal immunity (no pun intended).
The following resources may be helpful for interested colleagues in this group to review and discuss with administrators and decision makers of your organizations. Whether
self-insured, TPA or commercial WC programs may vary widely.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/black-hole-covid-vaccine-injury-claims-2021-06-29/
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2034438
Vaccine mandates and vaccine injuries: An unexpected cost to the workers’ compensation system
https://www.hrsa.gov/vaccine-compensation/faq
Fred
Fred Fung, MD, MS, JD, Esq.
Vice President, Medical Management
7676 Hazard Center Drive, Suite 1200
San Diego, CA 92108
(619) 686 2956
DoNotEncrypt
From: MCOH-EH <mcoh-eh-bounces@mylist.net>
On Behalf Of Enass Awad
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2021 10:23 PM
To: MCOH-EH <mcoh-eh@mylist.net>
Subject: Re: [MCOH-EH] FW: [MARKETING] [EXTERNAL] Reminder: CDC COCA Call Today: What Clinicians Need to Know About the Latest CDC Recommendations for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Booster Vaccination
Good evening MCOH-EH:
A question to those of you who are mandating COVID-19 vaccine on your employees.
Are you taking adverse effects of the vaccine as a work-related injury since the employees were REQUIRED to take it , and which was OSHA’s initial position ?
Or are you following the latest position from May where it was determined that regardless of whether it was recommended or required, and until at least May 2022, side effects are not to be considered as work-related ?
Thanks much ,
Enass Arahman, MD, MPH, FACOEM
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