US Government Confirms COVID-19 Vaccine Caused Severe Fever
It’s not clear whether the person who suffered the side effect survived.
The federal government has expanded its list of confirmed COVID-19 vaccine side effects for which it will provide compensation.
A person who suffered “severe febrile reaction,” or a high fever, after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine will receive compensation from the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), according to the Health Resources and Services Administration, which administrates the program.
It’s the first time officials with the program have confirmed that one of the COVID-19 shots causes severe fever, which can in rare cases lead to death.
The administration did not respond to requests for details, including whether the patient survived and how it determined a shot caused the reaction.
The Epoch Times has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to try to uncover more information about the case.
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“Very high fever has long been recognized as a classic reaction to live virus and inactivated vaccines that stimulate a strong inflammatory response in the body,” Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center, told The Epoch Times in an email, pointing to how U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials acknowledge that certain vaccines can cause high fevers.
“Even a mildly elevated fever can provoke febrile seizures in those who are more susceptible, especially children. Although most short febrile seizures are considered to be harmless, some that are more complicated may be followed by brain dysfunction,” Ms. Fisher added. “It is important for public health officials to acknowledge all severe febrile reactions following receipt of biological products, including COVID-19 shots, that they recommend and to compensate those who are injured.”
The CICP is the only avenue for people with injuries from COVID-19 vaccines to receive compensation.
Just 12 people have been compensated to date. The highest payout has been $4,934.
The compensated injuries are heart inflammation, or myocarditis; a related condition called pericarditis; severe allergic shock; and syncope.
Another 38 reported injuries have been adjudicated by the Health Resources and Services Administration to have been caused by COVID-19 vaccines and are pending compensation. Most are for cases of myocarditis. Other conditions include Guillain-Barre Syndrome, blood clotting, and swelling.
Compensation from the CICP is for medical expenses and lost employment income. If a person dies, their family members may qualify for survivor benefits.
The program provides compensation for injuries or deaths “that, based on compelling, reliable, valid, medical and scientific evidence, are found to be directly caused” by vaccines or other covered countermeasures, according to the program.
The program covers COVID-19 vaccines and drugs because of a Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act declaration entered during the Trump administration that was renewed by the Biden administration.
Most other vaccines in the United States fall under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, which enables people with alleged or actual injuries to take their cases to federal judges in a no-fault system that paid out $4.8 billion between 1988 and 2022.
Government lawyers said in a brief on May 20 that the plaintiffs have failed to allege the CICP’s procedures are “constitutionally inadequate.”
“Plaintiffs argue that the fact that some CICP claims have been denied establishes a due process violation,” the lawyers wrote, “but they do not dispute Defendants’ showing that such denials were based on failure to meet requirements in the PREP Act and governing regulations.”
