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The Australian government could pay much less to Covid-19 vaccine injury claimants, according to the latest budget figures.
The Department of Social Services (DSS) previously estimated that the government’s COVID-19 vaccine billing scheme could cost taxpayers $76.9 million (US$51.98 million) in 2022-23. was
The figure was later revised to $28.8 million (US$19.45 million) for fiscal year 2023-24, according to the ministry. portfolio budget statement.
To date, the government has paid $7.3 million to 137 applicants for the scheme.
The scheme was launched following the rollout of a nationwide vaccination program that has made Australia one of the most vaccinated countries in the world.
Extensive vaccination mandates were implemented by governments at the state and federal levels, forcing many Australians to roll up their sleeves.
The Epoch Times has contacted relevant departments to ascertain why the government changed its estimates. The reply did not arrive in time for publication.
Senators Want Answers
The DSS is now facing intense scrutiny over the scheme after Liberal Senator Gerald Rennick criticized it for being reluctant to provide compensation for vaccine injuries.
“Over the past 18 months, we have been inundated with healthy people without underlying medical conditions who were severely injured within days of being vaccinated,” he told The Epoch Times by email.
“The same people are still contacting me saying that the Department of Human Services is refusing to pay for these injuries, even though the victims have received proper verification from a number of experts.
“It is an absolute disgrace to these victims that the government continues to spend nearly another billion dollars on more COVID-19 vaccines next year while the government refuses to care for them.”
As part of this health pledge, the Labor government will also allocate $100 million to campaigns to increase the availability of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, the federal government is also working on a class action lawsuit involving 500 claimants over injuries from the COVID-19 vaccine.
The action targets the federal government, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brendan Murphy, and John Skerritt, the front face of the country’s drug regulatory agency, Therapeutic Goods Control.
“This lawsuit will be argued by the Drug Administration as follows: [TGA] Our failure to meet our obligations to adequately regulate the COVID-19 vaccine has caused tremendous harm and damage to the Australian public,” NR Babi attorney Natalie Strigiland said in a statement.
The lawsuit alleges that the government’s actions in promoting the use of the COVID-19 vaccine were “negligible or unlawful” and caused the plaintiffs personal injury, medical expenses and economic loss.
“Currently, this claim is based on the fact that the government actually acted negligently in approving the vaccine and did not withdraw it after approval based on known evidence,” Streiland said. added Mr.
Changing zeitgeist around vaccine injury
This comes as the reality of vaccine injury is becoming increasingly recognized.
Health officials had previously accused Australian medical experts of questioning the effectiveness of the jab as part of a broader effort to boost vaccine uptake.
But in December 2022, and in a sign of a shift in the zeitgeist, former Congressman Dr. Kellin Phelps revealed that she and her partner had been seriously injured by the COVID-19 vaccine, also linked to a jab. The actual number of adverse events is much higher than official data suggests.
“In my case, the injury resulted in dysautonomia with intermittent fever and cardiovascular effects such as shortness of breath, inappropriate sinus tachycardia and blood pressure fluctuations,” she told Congress. wrote in the submission document of
But protracted vaccination obligations continue to keep workers in various fields out of their professions, and doctors unable to practice again.
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