Logo Image
|Articles|June 20, 2006

HHS Issues Final Rule for Smallpox Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

Health and Human Resources Department (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt has announced final rules for the Smallpox Vaccine Injury Compensation Program; these rules strengthen the smallpox vaccination compensation program, which provides benefits to public health and medical response team members and others who are injured as a result of receiving the smallpox vaccine.

The final rules supersede and update the Smallpox Vaccine Injury Table and the Administrative Implementation interim final rules that were published in the Dec. 16, 2003 issue of the Federal Register.

"By offering compensation to first responders and others injured by the vaccine, the program protects those pledged to protect us in the event of a smallpox outbreak," Leavitt said. The final rules also clarify the definition of a child survivor, extend the effective period in which an individual may receive a smallpox vaccination and be considered for benefits, and address which individuals may be considered for benefits. The final rules were published in the May 24, 2006, edition of the Federal Register and are effective immediately.

The department's Health Resources and Services Administration administers the program, which provides medical benefits and lost employment income to eligible members of an HHS-approved smallpox emergency response plan and others injured by a smallpox vaccine or death benefits to survivors.

In addition to smallpox vaccine recipients, unvaccinated individuals injured after coming into contact with a vaccinated member of an emergency response plan, or with a person with whom the vaccinated person had contact, or their survivors may be eligible for the same program benefits.

Based on a Jan. 30, 2006, amendment to the Secretary's declaration, the date by which an individual in an HHS-approved smallpox emergency response plan may receive a smallpox vaccination and still be considered for benefits under the program has been extended to Jan. 23, 2007.

Anyone interested in eligibility or application information can contact the Smallpox Vaccine Injury Compensation Program at (888) 496-0338 or by sending an e-mail to: smallpox@hrsa.gov. Those who wish to file a claim will find forms and information at www.hrsa.gov/smallpoxinjury.

Source: HHS

 

 

Related to this article

View more
Infection preventionists in full PPE with children in DRC. (Image credit: author with AI)
Chasing the Bundibugyo Outbreak: How Static Numbers Hide a Moving Epidemic
Nearly 4 months into the DRC's Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak, some indicators suggest transmission may be slowing. But shifting hotspots, treatment-center capacity problems, community deaths, and incomplete surveillance data show why national case totals alone cannot determine whether containment has been achieved.
Read more
Health care workers from the US speaking with other health care workers in DRC. (Image credit: author with AI)
What Outbreak Metrics Can and Cannot Tell Us About the Ebola DRC Response
Is the Ebola outbreak in the DRC getting better? The answer depends on which numbers you examine. Several important indicators are moving in the right direction, including slower case growth and a declining Rₜ. But major gaps remain in contact tracing, testing, community deaths, safe burial coverage, and treatment capacity in some of the hardest-hit areas. ICT takes a deeper look at the latest outbreak data and why the numbers suggest cautious optimism, not victory.
Read more
Dyan Troxell, MSN, RN, director of clinical education at HandCraft Linen Services; J.J. Odom, MBA, CHESP, CMIP, T-CHEST, university director of buildings and grounds for UConn Health and chair-elect of the AHE Board; and Jenna Rivers, MPH, CPH, CIC, manager of infection prevention and control at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.
At AHE Exchange26: Building Safer, Smarter Reusable Linen Programs
At AHE Exchange 2026, ICT spoke with experts representing commercial laundry services, EVS, and infection prevention about the systems behind a successful reusable linen program. They discuss linen quality, reject rates, unnecessary waste, frontline education, data, PAR levels, infection prevention oversight, and why strong relationships between health care facilities and their laundry providers matter.
Read more
A group of students raising their hands in class during a lecture (Adobe Stock 292282454 by Mediteraneo
Once a Teacher, Always a Teacher: Why Infection Prevention Is Education
How do you celebrate an infection that never happened? That's one of the unusual challenges infection preventionists share with teachers. Both can spend their careers changing outcomes they may never see. Both educate people who don't always want to listen. Both are second-guessed. Both face burnout. And both must somehow keep remembering why they started.
Read more