Senator Rand Paul introduces bill to end federal liability shield for vaccine makers
- Sen. Rand Paul introduced S.3853, co-sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee, to eliminate long-standing federal liability protections that shield vaccine manufacturers from most civil lawsuits.
- The bill would amend the Public Health Service Act, remove the statute of limitations for certain claims and end COVID-19 vaccines’ classification as “countermeasures” under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act).
- The PREP Act, invoked in 2020 during the COVID-19 emergency, provides broad immunity from liability to governments, manufacturers, distributors and health professionals, except in cases involving proven “willful misconduct.”
- As of Jan. 2, the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has logged 1,673,223 reports of adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination, including deaths, hospitalizations, heart attacks and myocarditis cases; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers have noted a high verification rate for reported myocarditis.
- Studies from Harvard Medical School and other researchers suggest adverse events may be underreported in VAERS, while international research published in Vaccine identified elevated risks of certain conditions following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination, findings that authors say warrant further investigation.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky introduced legislation last Wednesday that would eliminate long-standing federal liability protections shielding vaccine manufacturers from most civil lawsuits in the United States.
The bill, co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, seeks to amend the Public Health Service Act to end broad liability shield for vaccine producers. The measure, designated S.3853 and titled “A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to end the liability shield for vaccine manufacturers and for other purposes,” was introduced on Feb. 11, and referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
S.3853 would also remove the statute of limitations for individuals seeking compensation under the previous law and end the classification of COVID-19 vaccines as “countermeasures” under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, commonly known as the PREP Act. The PREP Act provides liability protections to manufacturers and others involved in the development and distribution of designated medical countermeasures during public health emergencies.
If enacted, the legislation would eliminate the general immunity vaccine manufacturers enjoy under the 1986 law and allow individuals to pursue civil actions regardless of whether they have filed a petition with the federal compensation program.
This shift, according to BrightU.AI‘s Enoch, could have significant implications for public health, as the threat of litigation might lead to increased scrutiny and accountability in the development and distribution of vaccines.
1.6M adverse event reports filed as PREP Act shields COVID vaccine stakeholders
In early 2020, the first Trump administration invoked the PREP Act in declaring COVID-19 a public health emergency, activating broad immunity protections tied to pandemic countermeasures.
Under the statute, the federal government, state governments, manufacturers and distributors of covered countermeasures and licensed health professionals administering them are shielded from “all claims for loss” related to those countermeasures. The primary exception involves cases of death or serious physical injury caused by “willful misconduct,” a legal standard requiring proof that a defendant acted intentionally to achieve a wrongful purpose.
However, data from the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) show that, as of Jan. 2, 1,673,223 reports of adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination had been submitted, including 38,983 reported deaths, 222,078 hospitalizations, 22,454 heart attacks, and 29,131 cases of myocarditis and pericarditis, among other conditions.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers have acknowledged the “high verification rate” of myocarditis reports submitted to VAERS following mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination and have suggested that under-reporting is more likely than over-reporting for that condition.
Questions about reporting rates predate the pandemic. A 2010 study affiliated with Harvard Medical School estimated that fewer than 1% of vaccine adverse events are reported to VAERS. Additionally, a 2012 paper referenced a confidential study conducted by Connaught Laboratories, a vaccine manufacturer, which suggested adverse events may be significantly underreported.
International research has also examined potential safety signals. An analysis involving 99 million individuals across eight countries, published in the journal Vaccine, reported statistically higher risks of myocarditis following first, second, and third doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, along with possible elevated risks of pericarditis, Guillain-Barré syndrome and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. The study’s authors said some findings warrant further investigation.
In April 2024, the CDC released approximately 780,000 previously undisclosed reports of serious adverse events following a court order. Separately, a study conducted in Japan reported statistically significant increases in certain cancer deaths following third doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines and proposed several hypotheses to explain a potential association, while calling for additional research.
Watch the video below that talks about how childhood vaccines have not gone through safety trials.
This video is from The People Of The Qur’an (TPQ) channel on Brighteon.com.
Sources include:
LifeSiteNews.com
Congress.gov
BrightU.ai
Brighteon.com
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