COVID-19 Vaccinations

Liability and Compensation Considerations Critical for a Successful Campaign

Nicholas M. Pace, Lloyd Dixon

Expert InsightsPublished Sep 21, 2020

The authors of this Perspective examine liability and compensation issues as they relate to the future distribution and administration of the COVID-19 vaccine. They provide a brief history of how the U.S. government has addressed liability and compensation concerns in previous public health threats — specifically by providing liability immunity to manufacturers and distributors of vaccines should lawsuits arise as the result of serious side effects, as well as by setting up compensation systems that provide some, but not all, benefits of traditional tort litigation. That the COVID-19 pandemic is global complicates issues of liability outside the United States because an act of Congress cannot determine legal procedure in other countries. The authors also consider the possibility that volunteers for vaccination campaigns might be hesitant and suggest consideration of appropriate compensation for any adverse effects.

Topics

Document Details

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Pace, Nicholas M. and Lloyd Dixon, COVID-19 Vaccinations: Liability and Compensation Considerations Critical for a Successful Campaign, RAND Corporation, PE-A761-1, September 2020. As of September 11, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA761-1.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Pace, Nicholas M. and Lloyd Dixon, COVID-19 Vaccinations: Liability and Compensation Considerations Critical for a Successful Campaign. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2020. https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA761-1.html.
BibTeX RIS

Research conducted by

Funding for this Perspective was provided by gifts from RAND supporters and income from operations. The research was conducted by the Justice Policy Program within RAND Social and Economic Well-Being.

This publication is part of the RAND expert insights series. The expert insights series presents perspectives on timely policy issues.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.