Vaccine Damage Payment
Eligibility
You could get a payment if you’re severely disabled and your disability was caused by vaccination against any of the following diseases:
- coronavirus (COVID-19)
- diphtheria
- haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
- human papillomavirus
- influenza, except for influenza caused by a pandemic influenza virus
- measles
- meningococcal group B (meningitis B)
- meningococcal group C (meningitis C)
- meningococcal group W (meningitis W)
- mumps
- pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 (swine flu) - up to 31 August 2010
- pertussis (whooping cough)
- pneumococcal infection
- poliomyelitis
- rotavirus
- rubella (German measles)
- smallpox - up to 1 August 1971
- tetanus
- tuberculosis (TB)
You may have had a combined vaccination against a number of the diseases listed. For example, you might have been vaccinated against DTP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) or MMR (measles, mumps and rubella).
You may also be able to get a payment if you’re severely disabled because either:
- your mother was vaccinated against one of the diseases in the list while she was pregnant
- you’ve been in close physical contact with someone who’s had an oral vaccine against poliomyelitis
You can also apply for this payment on behalf of someone who has died after becoming severely disabled because of one of these vaccinations. You need to be managing their estate to apply.
What counts as ‘severely disabled’
Disablement is worked out as a percentage, and ‘severe disablement’ means at least 60% disabled.
This could be a mental or physical disablement and will be based on medical evidence from the doctors or hospitals involved in your treatment.
When and where the vaccination must have taken place
You must normally have been vaccinated before your 18th birthday, unless the vaccination was during an outbreak of disease in the UK or the Isle of Man, or it was against:
- coronavirus (COVID-19)
- poliomyelitis
- rubella
- meningococcal group C
- human papillomavirus
- pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 (swine flu)
- meningococcal group W before your 26th birthday
- influenza
The vaccination must have been given in the UK or the Isle of Man, unless you were vaccinated as part of your armed forces medical treatment.