U.S. Government’s Flawed Compensation System

While the PREP Act provides blanket legal immunity to pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and healthcare providers, it also established a narrow pathway for compensation through the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP). By creating a compensation system that is nearly impossible for most injured individuals to navigate, the federal government further reinforced an environment where pharmaceutical companies are insulated from accountability, and patients are left to fend for themselves. 

The PREP Act, designed originally to promote swift responses to public health emergencies, has morphed into a protective shield for pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer and Moderna, enabling them to operate without the typical checks and balances of liability. Meanwhile, the CICP—the sole avenue for those harmed by these countermeasures—offers little hope for justice or support.

The CICP, unlike the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, is far less known and much more restrictive. It covers only countermeasures specifically designated under the PREP Act, including COVID-19 vaccines and treatments like Remdesivir. To be compensated by the CICP for a COVID-19 vaccine injury, it must be established, by “compelling, reliable, valid, medical and scientific evidence,” that the vaccine directly caused the injury or death.