Vaccine Injury Act, Childhood

In response to the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1988, which required health workers to report vaccine adverse events, the CDC and the FDA collaborated in 1990 to implement the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) to monitor the safety of vaccines in both sectors. Health care professionals and parent or other caretakers are encouraged to report all clinically significant vaccine adverse events. Narrative diagnostic reports are reviewed and assigned standard codes using Coding Symbols for a Thesaurus of Adverse Reaction Terms. The source of the vaccines (public versus private provider) is recorded on the form. 

The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, Section 2125, Public Health Service Act as codified at 42 U.S.C. 300aa (SuppL), 1987. 

Congress passes the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, requiring patient information on vaccines and reporting of adverse events after vaccination. 

In the USA, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 established the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program as a federal no-fault compensation system for individuals who may have been injured by specific vaccines. This compensation program relies on a Vaccine Injury Table that lists the vaccines that are covered by the program, as well as injuries, disabilities, illnesses, and conditions (including death) for which compensation may be awarded. To better reflect current scientific knowledge about vaccine injuries, the Vaccine Injury Table was revised in 1995 and has been subsequently further modified. The latest modification, which became effective on December 1, 2004, is shown in Table 7. This revision took into account a review of the literature on specific adverse consequences of pertussis and rubella vaccines performed and published by the lOM (SED-12, 817) (SED-12, 825). In addition to the seven vaccines (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella, and poliomyelitis) included in the first Vaccine Injury Table, the 1997 revision includes hepatitis B, Hemophilus influenzae type b, and Varicella vaccines, as well as any future licensed vaccine recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for routine administration to children (38). 

Table 7 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act Vaccine Injury Table ...

Evans, G. National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act Revision of the vaccine injury table. Pediatrics 1996, Dec., 98 (6 Pt. 1), 1179-1181. 

Current trends national childhood vaccine injury act Requirements for permanent vaccination records and for reporting of selected events after vaccination. MM WR, Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 1988, April 08, 37 (13), 197-200. Publication of vaccine information pamphlets. MMWR, Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 1991, Oct. 25. 40 (42), 881-882. 

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