In Development-Call for Evidence

Introduction

I am the founder and trustee of charity, UKCVFamily (1207178), supporting those adversely affected by Covid-19 vaccination. I have engaged with MPs on behalf of the people our charity supports, I have extensive knowledge about the lived experience of those affected and the UK’s Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme. I can travel to London if needed but may need reasonable adjustments due to my health conditions.

Call For Evidence (500 words)

During the Pandemic in 2021, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) donated £548m to Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX). This scheme was a global first aimed at equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines for 92 developing countries, led by GAVI, WHO, CEPI and Vaccine Alliance. (.GOV, n.d.)

A No Fault Compensation Scheme (NFCS) agreement was signed (Feb’21) by the WHO and Chubb Ltd, through EISS Ltd, for administration of a no-fault compensation programme for countries eligible for support via the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) of the COVAX Facility (WHO.INT, 2021) 

The funding from the ODA allowed the UK to contribute to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) delivering a speculated 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the 92 AMC countries during 2021(Foreign, 2022). The COVAX compensation scheme was funded through an ad hoc fund and levy per vaccine dose procured or made available through the AMC and ODA funding.

Research by the Oxford Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, "No-fault compensation schemes for COVID-19 vaccine injury: a mixed bag for claimants and citizens”(Macleod et al., 2024), provides insight into how the COVAX NCFS has fared; "The multinational scheme rules all set out clearly compensation awards quantification methodology, including if there are insufficient funds to fully compensate claimants. However, some aspects are unclear, for example: How much is the levy? Or the administrative costs? What happens if there is a surplus at the scheme endpoint? The question of a surplus is particularly pertinent given the low claiming rates. COVAX has delivered 1.75 billion eligible doses, and as of 31 January 2024 has had 143 applications to the NFCS, most of which were ineligible.”

As of May 2024, the scheme data (COVAX, 2024) shows that just 16 claims have been paid under COVAX, and only 23 claims have been made in countries that the scheme supports.  Zero claims have been made by claimants from N.America, Latin America, Carribean, Europe and Central Asia. It isn’t known if the very low claim rate is due to inaccessibility, lack of public messaging or due to a design flaw or implementation of the scheme itself. In contrast, as of 24th April 2024, the UK’s Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme had agreed to pay 168 claims. (NHSBSA, 2024)

Furthermore, research (Macleod et al., 2024) found, “These schemes are substantially publicly funded, although indirectly, but cannot be subject to scrutiny by the public.”

Given the substantial contributions made to COVAX by the FCDO and ODA, these questions should be answered and debated, including how the UK should proceed with contributing to such schemes in the future. The UK was the largest contributor to WHO’s Core Voluntary Contributions Account in 2022(Departmental Update-WHO.INT, 2023), planning for future health crises are underway, in the form of the WHO Accord (WHO.INT, 2024). The COVAX NFCS should be examined, ensuring it provides adequate, equal access to compensation for citizens of lower- and middle-income countries who suffer a severe adverse reaction due to a vaccine which is recommended and funded by UK donations.

Bibliography

.GOV. (n.d.). A review of the Vaccines Taskforce-GOV.UK. Retrieved December 7, 2024, from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-review-of-the-vaccine-taskforce/a-review-of-the-vaccine-taskforce

COVAX. (2024, May). COVAX-Compensation-program-data-pdf. https://covaxclaims.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/COVAX-Compensation-Program-Data.pdf

Departmental Update-WHO.INT. (2023, June 6). WHO and the UK hone their collaboration against Pandemics and other health threats. https://www.who.int/news/item/06-06-2023-who-and-the-uk-hone-their-collaboration-against-pandemics--other-health-threats

Foreign, C. and D. O. (2022, January 11). Written evidence memorandum from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/13190/pdf/

Macleod, S., Uberti, F., & Kameni, E. (2024). No-fault compensation schemes for COVID-19 vaccine injury: a mixed bag for claimants and citizens. Journal of Medical Ethics, jme-2024-109900. https://doi.org/10.1136/jme-2024-109900

NHSBSA. (2024, April 24). VDPS Figures-FOI NHSBSA. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/vdps_figures_3#incoming-2638971

WHO.INT. (2021, February 22). A No-Fault Compensation Scheme for Covid-19 Vaccines is a World First. https://www.who.int/news/item/22-02-2021-no-fault-compensation-programme-for-covid-19-vaccines-is-a-world-first

WHO.INT. (2024, June 10). Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response Accord. https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/pandemic-prevention--preparedness-and-response-accord