Image Credit: FatCamera / Getty Images 
A new bill introduced to Congress would end liability protection for all vaccine manufacturers.
Bill HR 4668, introduced by Rep. Paul Gosar, would change federal law so that vaccine makers could be sued under a wide range of circumstances.
Under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, individuals can only sue vaccine companies after filing a petition with a government compensation program, which can take years.
Bill HR 4668 would allow individuals to proceed straight to a civil suit against manufacturers.
It would also repeal sections of the Vaccine Injury Act that exempt manufacturers from liability for injury or death in cases that “resulted from side effects that were unavoidable even though the vaccine was properly prepared and was accompanied by proper directions and warnings,” and sections that make manufacturers liable only in cases where fraud or wrongful withholding of information from regulators can be demonstrated.
“Current immunity provisions unfairly shielding Big Pharma from the harms caused by their products prevents those injured by vaccines to pursue a civil lawsuit in state or federal court,” Rep. Gosar said in a statement.
“This carveout has resulted in hundreds of billions of dollars in profits for Big Pharma while leaving tens of thousands of people without the ability to seek legal justice and compensation for injuries caused by vaccines.”
He added that the bill “puts patients over profits by stripping away current liability protections and removes the statute of limitations unfairly shielding Big Pharma from the harms caused by their products and allows those injured by vaccines to pursue a civil lawsuit in state or federal court.”
Gosar’s bill was introduced in 2024, but failed to gain momentum because Congress was split. Republicans now control both chambers.
