UK Vaccine Damage Compensation Set at 200 Million Won... Compensation Efforts Begin Worldwide, What About Korea?

Discussion Begins on Compensation Measures for Damages in US, Europe, etc.
UK Provides Uniform 200 Million KRW in 'Vaccine Damage Payment'
Domestic Vaccination Damage Investigation Team Starts Review
Government and Civic Groups Disagree on Causality Recognition

At the end of 2020, a 91-year-old British grandmother became the world's first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Compensation plans for vaccine side effect damages are being considered in developed countries such as the United States and Europe, drawing attention.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 19th (local time), governments around the world have begun discussions on compensation support for those who reported vaccine side effects.

In the case of the United Kingdom, specific compensation amounts are also being discussed. The UK's National Health Service (NHS) has currently received about 720 claims for vaccine damage compensation, including 438 cases of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) occurring in some AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine recipients (79 deaths). The NHS expects that if the current trend continues, a total of 1,500 to 1,800 claims will be recorded this year.

The UK government already operates a system called the Vaccine Damage Payment, which compensates those who have suffered vaccine side effects. According to information posted on the official UK government website, if serious disability occurs due to the government’s vaccine immunization campaign, the government pays a lump sum of ?120,000 (approximately 200 million KRW) to the victim. This amount is paid only once to an individual citizen and is free of any taxes.

Meanwhile, the Norwegian government also decided earlier this month to pay compensation for 25 cases of vaccine damage. The Norwegian government plans to review the extent of damage for each case and set compensation amounts according to the severity.

AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine and syringe / Photo by Yonhap News

Currently, Norway has received about 400 vaccine side effect damage compensation applications, and about 300 of these are under review. Earlier, the Norwegian Patient Injury Compensation System (NPE) stated in a press release on the 13th that "among the 46 cases reviewed, compensation was decided for 14 cases, with a total payment amount of 1.1 million kroner (approximately 150 million KRW)."

According to WSJ, the United States has also begun compensating for rare side effects. So far, 3,320 vaccine damage cases have been reported in the U.S., with liability recognized for one case, and the remaining cases are undergoing detailed procedures.

Among the vaccines administered in the U.S., messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna have been reported to cause rare side effects like myocarditis and pericarditis. Additionally, the Janssen vaccine, which uses viral vector technology similar to the AZ vaccine, has been reported to cause VITT and thrombocytopenic thrombosis syndrome (TTS).

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) added the COVID-19 vaccine to the existing vaccine injury compensation program in 2020.

Last year, citizens vaccinated at the 'COVID-19 Vaccination Center' in Dongdaemun, Seoul, are moving to the adverse reaction monitoring area. / Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, in South Korea, the Vaccination Injury Investigation Team under the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reviews and evaluates reports of vaccine side effects, and then completes compensation deliberations through the Vaccination Injury Compensation Expert Committee.

As of the 28th of last month, the Vaccination Injury Investigation Team reviewed 5,031 major adverse reaction cases, recognizing causality in 796 cases, including 2 deaths, 5 severe cases, and 789 anaphylaxis reactions.

However, some claim that the number of vaccine side effect deaths recognized by the government is far from the actual number. The civic group "COVID-19 Vaccine Victims Families Association" (Kobackhoe) stated earlier this month that the number of deaths following vaccination has already exceeded 1,800 cases and urged the government to acknowledge causality and prepare countermeasures.

However, the government refuted these claims as "unscientific."

Son Youngrae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said at a press conference on the 20th of last month, "Claims that more than 1,500 deaths occurred due to vaccination are unscientific fake news. After thorough scientific verification, causality was confirmed in 2 cases, and including cases with insufficient evidence, 13 cases in total. Saying that 1,500 to 1,600 people died due to vaccination is unscientific and does not correspond to the facts," he explained.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.