As the Jamaican government requires vaccinations for students 12 and over in order to resume face-to-face classes and more adults get inoculated amid an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases, it was confirmed that the country doesn’t have a compensation programme should someone get injured from the vaccine. The confirmation came as the overseer of the vaccination program for the Ministry of Health & Wellness Dr Melody Ennis said that, as of August 24, there were 303 notifications of adverse events related to the vaccine, up from 249 at the time of her last report on July 29.
Dr Ennis said that she didn’t have the breakdown of serious events and deaths, but that 290 were related to the AstraZeneca brand rolled out in the country in March, and 13 were from the Pfizer, which was added to the vaccine mix this month. The lack of a compensation programme means that, unlike countries, including the U.S. and 92 others facilitated by the WHO (World Health Organisation), anyone seeking damages in Jamaica for an alleged vaccine injury will have to sue the government in court, according to the permanent secretary in the health ministry, Dunstan Bryan.
“We didn’t establish such a fund,” said Mr. Bryan when asked about the process for filing a claim. “It’s a normal process of how you file a claim against government.” He further clarified that that meant through lawsuits.
He stated that in order to have secured vaccines, the Jamaican government had to indemnify the manufacturers, AstraZeneca and Pfizer and the most recent addition, Johnson & Johnson, exposing the government to liability if someone gets injured. However, Mr. Bryan said that, as of August 25, the ministry hadn’t made any pay-outs nor had it received any claims.
Even if a claim is filed, winning in a Jamaican court might be difficult.
One U.S. vaccine injury attorney Anne Carrión Toale said: “Primary doctors don’t have expertise to figure out vaccine-related causes, not here and not there (in Jamaica). When vaccine injuries are contested, we have to prove our case using one or more Ivy League level experts such as immunologists and/or other specialists from fields like neurology or cardiology.”
Mr. Bryan stated that in order to have secured vaccines, the Jamaican government had to indemnify the manufacturers, AstraZeneca and Pfizer and the most recent addition, Johnson & Johnson, exposing the government to liability if someone gets injured. However, Mr. Bryan said that, as of August 25, the ministry hadn’t made any pay-outs nor had it received any claims.
Even if a claim is filed, winning in a Jamaican court might be difficult.
