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Smallpox Vaccine Injury Compensation Program
•Established pursuant to USDHHS Secretary authority under the Smallpox Emergency Personnel Protection Act of 2003 (SEPPA).
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• Provides “benefits and/or compensation to certain persons harmed as a direct result of receiving smallpox covered countermeasures, including the smallpox vaccine, or as a direct result of contracting vaccinia through certain accidental exposures.” [boldness added]
42 CFR 102; http://www.hrsa.gov/smallpoxinjury/
Speaking Points

The Smallpox Emergency Personnel Protection Act of 2003, Public Law 108-20, 117 Stat. 638, enacted on April 30, 2003, authorized the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Smallpox Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The program was appropriated $42 million to provide benefits and/or compensation to eligible individuals. An interim final rule was issued by USDHHS in December, published in the Federal Register on December 16, 2003.