RFK Jr. and Gosar Want to Scrap Vaccine Injury Program. Here’s Why That’s a Bad Idea.
📷 Image source: statnews.com
The Target on VICP’s Back
How a Little-Known Program Became a Political Lightning Rod
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Rep. Paul Gosar don’t agree on much, but they’ve found common cause in attacking the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP)—a wonky, decades-old system most Americans have never heard of. Their argument? That it’s a corrupt shield for Big Pharma. The reality? It’s a flawed but critical safety net that’s paid out over $5 billion to families harmed by rare vaccine reactions since 1988.
Kennedy’s crusade against the program isn’t new, but it’s gained alarming traction in Congress. Last month, Gosar introduced a bill to abolish VICP entirely, calling it a 'kangaroo court'—a line straight from RFK Jr.’s playbook. The problem? Dismantling it wouldn’t help victims. It would leave them drowning in legal quicksand against pharmaceutical giants with bottomless litigation budgets.
How VICP Actually Works
No, It’s Not a Pharma Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card
Here’s what the outrage merchants won’t tell you: VICP was created because lawsuits were crippling vaccine production in the 1980s. The polio vaccine maker Wyeth nearly went bankrupt from claims. So Congress struck a deal—companies would pay into a compensation fund, and in exchange, families couldn’t sue them directly unless they first went through VICP.
The system isn’t perfect. Cases take years to resolve, and only about 30% get compensation. But compare that to the alternative: Before VICP, parents of children with severe vaccine reactions often lost everything paying lawyers to fight unwinnable battles against corporate legal teams. Now, at least, there’s a path to compensation without bankrupting families.
The Real Reform That’s Needed
Faster Payouts, Clearer Science, Less Red Tape
Instead of torching VICP, here’s what would actually help victims: Streamline the glacial process (some claims take 5+ years), update the injury table to reflect modern science (it still lists whole-cell pertussis vaccines phased out in the 1990s), and boost public awareness so families know the program exists.
Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, a Harvard drug policy expert, puts it bluntly: 'Scrapping VICP would be like canceling fire insurance because the claims process is slow.' The program needs a tune-up, not a wrecking ball—especially when measles outbreaks are resurging and vaccine hesitancy keeps climbing. This isn’t about protecting Pharma. It’s about protecting people.
Why This Fight Matters Now
A Preview of the Next Anti-Vax Battleground
Watch this space. The attack on VICP isn’t just about one program—it’s the opening salvo in a larger war on vaccine infrastructure. Kennedy has already promised to 'dismantle' CDC and FDA vaccine oversight if elected. Gosar’s bill, though likely doomed, signals where the anti-vaccine movement is pivoting post-COVID: from screaming about mandates to sabotaging systems that keep immunization safe.
The irony? VICP was designed to reassure skeptics that vaccines are monitored for safety. Gutting it would achieve the opposite—eroding trust while making life harder for the very people the conspiracy theorists claim to champion. That’s not reform. It’s sabotage dressed up as populism.
#VaccineSafety #PublicHealth #Healthcare #VICP #AntiVax
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