CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal Sidebari Compensation Programs for Potential COVID-19 Vaccine Injuries

From the Congressional Research Service:

More than 200 million Americans have received one or more doses of a Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID–19) vaccine, along with billions of people worldwide. The Food and Drug Administration’s
(FDA’s) emergency use authorizations for the Pfizer–BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson
COVID–19 vaccines were based on months–long clinical trials (including safety monitoring) of each
vaccine, involving tens of thousands of participants. These trials did not identify any safety concerns that
would preclude such authorization. (The Pfizer–BioNTech COVID–19 vaccine subsequently received full
approval from FDA.) Post–authorization, the COVID–19 vaccines have been subject to safety monitoring
requirements by FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to detect long–term or
rare adverse health events. (For more information, see this CRS report.)