Families in the UK have been told that they will be able to claim Pandemrix injury compensation for children who developed narcolepsy following the administration of the flu vaccine in 2009 and 2010.
Parents will be able to claim up to £120,000 Pandemrix injury compensation from the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme which is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in the UK, provided that they are able to show that their child has suffered a severe disability.
If their claim for Pandemrix injury compensation is rejected, the families will still have the option of court action, but a DWP spokesperson said “The Department for Work and Pensions has looked at some vaccine damage payments cases again in light of new information regarding swine flu and narcolepsy provided by the Department for Health”.
The news comes just days after Health Minister James Reilly was criticised for comments he made about Pandemrix injury compensation in Ireland during a radio interview. The minister claimed that – to his knowledge – the financial assistance that had been requested by families in Ireland whose children had developed narcolepsy as a side effect of the vaccine had been provided.
However, the support group SOUND (Sufferers of Unique Narcolepsy Disorder) objected to his remarks – stating that the assistance that was being provided was only temporary and alleging that the government had reneged on a promise to approve a permanent solution last year.
SOUND committee member Eilish Plunkett – who has a son who developed narcolepsy due to Pandemrix in 2010 – said that her son (Sean) has a permanent illness which needs permanent support. She added that the personal services and financial Pandemrix injury compensation could be withdrawn at any time under the current arrangements.
She claims that James Reilly made a commitment to the support group to have the recommendations made in the official report “Investigation of an Increase in the Incidence of Narcolepsy in Children and Adolescents in 2009 and 2010” approved by the government before the 2012 summer recess. The report is still waiting to be heard.
Almost one million doses of Pandemrix were administered to children in Ireland due to the H1N1 swine flu pandemic of 2009. SOUND provides support for families which contain children who are suffering from the side effects of the flu jab.