Last night, the ABC's 7:30 news program laid bare the dysfunction of the Federal Government's COVID-19 Vaccine Injury Claims Scheme, leaving thousands of Australians with vaccine injuries stranded with significant health issues, shattered livelihoods and no access to economic support or compensation.
Founder and Director of the Justice for Vaccine Injured campaign, Tanya Neilson, said the scheme has become a bureaucratic nightmare instead of the safety net it was intended to be.
"This scheme was supposed to give people confidence to get vaccinated, knowing they'd be supported if something went wrong.
"Instead, it has become an utterly dysfunctional system - slow, complex, inconsistent and deeply unfair, leaving very sick Australians to fight their own government for help."
ABC's 7:30 featured the stories of Kathleen and Chris, whose lives have been devastated by vaccine injuries and the failures of the scheme.
Kathleen, a 53-year-old florist and single mother, developed severe pericarditis after receiving the Pfizer vaccine. She has endured multiple surgeries and arrhythmias, lost her business and is still waiting on her claim to be resolved.
"I've lost my livelihood, I can't work, and I have no financial support while my claim sits in limbo.
"I did the right thing by getting vaccinated. Now I've been completely abandoned."
Chris, a 52-year-old former logistics manager, developed Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. This diagnosis was then updated to Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy, the chronic version of GBS.
He now lives with severe neuropathy, brain fog and fatigue and requires daily medication and ongoing weekly infusion treatment.
"I've lost the ability to work and live a normal life.
"Even after finally receiving some compensation, I was hit with an enormous tax bill because the Government have chosen to tax all of the awarded past and future earnings in a single year, effectively reclaiming more than one third of my settlement.
"It feels like being punished twice for something that wasn't my fault."
Ms Neilson called on the Federal Government to urgently reform the broken COVID-19 Vaccine Injury Claims Scheme and introduce a National Vaccine Injury Claims Scheme.
"The Albanese Government didn't design this system, but it now has the opportunity and responsibility to fix it.
"Australians who did the right thing by getting vaccinated must not be abandoned to suffer in silence.
"With their health compromised and finances in ruins, it's only fair that the Federal Government honours its promise to stand by Australians whose lives have been shattered by a vaccine injury."
Ms Neilson said the introduction of a National Vaccine Injury Claims Scheme was critical in strengthening public health and putting Australia in the best possible position to manage future infectious disease outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics.
"The introduction of a National Vaccine Injury Claims Scheme will strengthen the Australian public's confidence in vaccination, improve vaccine efficacy and deliver the best possible public health outcomes to all Australians."
The Justice for Vaccine Injured campaign is calling on the Federal Government to:
- Urgently process the more than 4,500 COVID-19 vaccine injury claims fairly and in accordance with the scheme's current policy.
- Introduce a National Vaccine Injury Claims Scheme to cover a broader range of recognised vaccine injuries, strengthen vaccine confidence and ensure proper support for those harmed
