Day of Remembrance Coincides With 33RD Anniversary of the Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#BelieveMothers–Thousands will gather on the National Mall on November 14 to raise awareness for vaccine injury and honor those whose lives have been impacted by vaccine reactions, injury and death. The event marks the day that the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) was enacted 33 years ago, ultimately removing manufacturer liability for vaccine injury and death and creating a government compensation program for those affected.
The Vaccine Injury Epidemic Event, known as V.I.E., will feature a lineup of speakers that includes physicians, research scientists, lawyers, legislators, educators, human rights advocates and mothers of vaccine-injured children. Organized by CrazyMothers, a nonprofit advocacy group, the event seeks to honor those whose lives have been harmed by government-licensed and recommended vaccines.
V.I.E., which is free and open to the public, runs from noon to 4 pm along the 9th Street axis of the National Mall between Jefferson Drive and Madison Drive. The day will conclude with a memorial segment and slideshow honoring individuals who have suffered chronic health conditions, injury or death from vaccines. CrazyMothers founder Hillary Simpson says the purpose of V.I.E. is twofold: to illustrate that vaccine injury is prevalent — not one in a million as is commonly cited — and to give a voice to the voiceless.
“I started CrazyMothers to give a voice to the mothers who are at home all day every day with their severely vaccine-injured children,” Simpson remarked. “My inspiration for V.I.E. was to have one day where they could show up, be heard and feel like they were a part of something big. Many of these parents are so busy caring for their medically fragile children that they don’t get the opportunity to do everyday things or get together in community.”
Amidst other well known movements like #MeToo and #BelieveWomen that have captured national and international attention, Simpson says there has been no room at the podium for victims of vaccine injury. “At the base of these movements is the very idea that just because you didn’t experience something doesn’t mean that I didn’t experience something. That seems to completely stop when it comes to mothers of vaccine-injured children, and we really have to ask ourselves why. Why is it ok to marginalize this group of women when we advocate for other groups of women who have been disenfranchised? Why aren’t we believing all women when they challenge conventional power structures?”
The Vaccine injury Compensation Program (VICP), established under the NCVIA, was designed to be a less time-consuming and costly alternative to a vaccine injury lawsuit; however, it was made an exclusive legal remedy by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2011. Approximately $4.2 billion has been awarded for injury and death claims under the VICP, according to an October 2019 report by the Health Resources and Services Administration. The program is funded by a 75-cent excise tax that is imposed on the purchase of each childhood vaccine recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
When it comes to seeking compensation, parents often describe the VICP as a burdensome and emotionally draining bureaucratic program that does not afford due process; there is no judge, jury of peers or discovery, with some cases taking more than a decade to resolve.
“The 1986 Act today looks nothing like the legislation that was originally signed into law,” said Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), a nonprofit charity that’s been advocating for informed consent protections in medical policies and public health laws since 1982. “The original Act made vaccine safety a national priority, but the people’s trust was betrayed when Congress added amendments and federal agencies used rulemaking authority to gut the safety and compensation provisions in the Act almost immediately after it was enacted.”
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) was established under the NCVIA and became operational in 1990. Even though the Act requires doctors and other providers to report vaccine reactions, there are no legal penalties for failure to comply. According to a study by the Department of Health and Human Services, less than one percent of all vaccine adverse events are ever reported to VAERS. This suggests that approximately 65 million vaccine adverse events may have occurred since 1990 based on the nearly 650,000 VAERS reports that have been made to date.
According to event organizers, attendees will be traveling to V.I.E. from all over the United States as well as Australia, Sweden and Canada. Major sponsors include NVIC; Children’s Health Defense, an advocacy organization chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that works to end the epidemic of children’s chronic health conditions; Enriched Parenting, a nonprofit that provides education and resources to help parents raise healthy and happy children; and ANENU, which advocates for vaccination policies that serve the best interests of the public and the individual. For detailed program information, visit https://www.thevieevent.com/.
About CrazyMothers
CrazyMothers is a national nonprofit dedicated to spreading vaccine injury and recovery awareness. Founded in 2018, the organization seeks to empower and give a voice to the growing global community of parents with vaccine-injured children. For more information, visit crazymothers.info or https://www.facebook.com/crazymothersorg/.
Contacts
Sherry Syence
Syence Communications
[email protected]
202.681.1901
