Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government how many applicants to the Vaccine Damages Payment Scheme (VDPS) have made a claim relating to the AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine; and how many applicants to the VDPS have been waiting for a decision for longer than (1) one year and (2) 18 months.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Lady Merron): As of 30 September 2024, the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) has processed 3,825 claims relating to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. A further 207 claims relating to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are undergoing medical assessment. As of 30 September 2024, there were 7,335 live VDPS claims, of which 1,024 have been awaiting resolution for longer than 12 months, and 316 claims for longer than 18 months.
Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the scientific advice they received from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation between 1 April and 6 May 2021 regarding age restrictions for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Lady Merron): The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provided advice to the Government between 1 April and 6 May 2021 regarding age restrictions for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. This advice was published on the GOV.UK website, and states that the JCVI currently advises that it is preferable for adults aged less than 30 years old, without underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease, to be offered an alternative COVID-19 vaccine, if available.
Discussions on the AstraZeneca vaccine also took place and are noted within the minutes of the JCVI’s COVID-19 sub-committee meetings held on 13, 22, and 29 April 2021. The outcome of the discussions held within these meetings was reflected in the updated JCVI advice on the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, published on the 7 May 2021, which extended the preferential use of alternative vaccines to unvaccinated adults aged 30 to 39 years old, who are not in a clinical priority group at higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease.
Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the medical assessors for the Vaccine Damages Payment Scheme have access to the scientific advice given to ministers regarding the AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Lady Merron): All claims to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) are assessed on a case-by-case basis by experienced independent medical assessors, General Medical Council registered doctors with a licence to practise, who have undertaken specialised training in vaccine damage and disability assessment.
When making medical assessment through the VDPS, independent medical assessors consider not just the claimant’s full medical records once they are gathered, but also the claim form and a range of credible resources to support their assessment, as per NHS Business Services Authority’s published VDPS Principles of Medical Assessment. This includes, but is not limited to, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s data, including Yellow Card information on suspected safety concerns involving a healthcare product, vaccine product information and updates, the UK Health Security Agency's Green Book, and the World Health Organization’s Causality assessment of an adverse event following immunization. Medical assessors will also consider academic research, epidemiological evidence, and the current consensus of expert medical opinion.
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