Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of approval rates for covid-19 vaccine injury claims in (a) the UK and (b) other jurisdictions for which figures are available.

No specific assessment has been made. All claims made through the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme are assessed on a case-by-case basis by independent medical assessors. Medical assessors must be General Medical Council registered doctors with a licence to practise and at least five years’ experience and must have undertaken specialised training in vaccine damage and disability assessment.

Medical assessors will consider the claim form, the clinical research, the epidemiological evidence, the current consensus of expert medical opinion, and the claimant’s full medical records. The assessment, once complete, will then undergo assurance review.