# Plain Language Summary: End the Vaccine Carveout Act

This bill would remove the legal protections that vaccine manufacturers currently have from lawsuits. Right now, if someone believes a vaccine injured them, they generally must go through a special government compensation program called the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program rather than suing the vaccine maker directly in regular court. This bill would change that by allowing people to bypass this program and take vaccine manufacturers to court for damages instead.

The bill makes several major changes to how vaccine injury claims work. First, it eliminates the requirement that people must file a claim with the government program before suing. Starting immediately if this bill passes, anyone who believes they've been harmed by a vaccine could go straight to state or federal court and sue the vaccine manufacturer or the person who gave them the vaccine. Second, it removes time limits on when people can file claims—currently there are strict deadlines (like 36 months for injuries and 24 months for deaths), but this bill would allow claims to be filed at any time. Third, it repeals several sections of existing law that protect vaccine makers from liability in court.

The bill also specifically excludes COVID-19 vaccines from a separate liability shield that protects manufacturers of emergency medical products during public health emergencies. This means COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers would lose that additional layer of legal protection as well.

The practical effect would be significant: vaccine manufacturers would face much greater legal and financial risk from lawsuits, which could affect vaccine development, pricing, and availability. People who believe they've been harmed would have more options to pursue compensation through the courts rather than the government program, though they would need to prove their case in court rather than rely on the compensation program's streamlined process.

End the Vaccine Carveout Act

End the Vaccine Carveout ActThis bill removes liability protections for manufacturers and administrators for vaccine-related injuries, and removes limitations on bringing civil actions for vaccine-related injuries or seeking compensation, under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). It also excludes COVID-19 vaccines from liability protections under the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP).&nbsp;Under current law, the VICP provides compensation for alleged injuries caused by certain routinely administered vaccines.&nbsp;Individuals generally may not file a civil action in court unless a VICP claim is filed and the resulting&nbsp;judgement is rejected. The VICP also limits the types of claims and amount of damages that may be sought (e.g., no liability for unavoidable side effects or failure to directly warn), and&nbsp;it imposes deadlines for filing claims. The bill removes the requirement to first file a claim under the VICP before pursuing a civil action, so individuals alleging vaccine-related injuries may choose to either bring a civil action or utilize the VICP. It also removes the restrictions on the types of civil actions and damages. The bill also&nbsp;removes the deadlines for filing claims under the VICP and applies this change retroactively.Additionally, under current law, the CICP provides compensation for alleged injuries caused by certain medical countermeasures during public health emergencies, including COVID-19 vaccines. The bill excludes COVID-19 vaccines from being considered as&nbsp;medical countermeasures.&nbsp;Therefore, under the bill, individuals may file civil actions against manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines rather than filing claims under the CICP.