HHS Proposes Narrow Injury Table for COVID-19 Vaccines Under Compensation Program That Has Rejected 99% of Claims

The Department of Health and Human Services released a description of a proposed rule on July 1, 2026, to establish an injury table for COVID-19 vaccines under the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program. The table would list injuries presumed to be caused by the vaccines based on compelling, reliable, valid, medical, and scientific evidence, along with required time periods for onset after administration.

COVID-19 vaccines fall under the program because prior health secretaries declared and extended emergency declarations under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that he was ending the emergency declaration, which authorizes him to provide benefits to people injured by the vaccines. ZeroHedge reported that an HHS spokesperson stated the agency is restoring transparency and accountability under Secretary Kennedy's leadership, because the American people deserve clear, evidence-based information about both the benefits and the known risks associated with medical countermeasures.

More details will be available when the notice is published in the Federal Register. Aaron Siri wrote to Kennedy in 2025 urging creation of the table, citing the law that requires the health secretary to establish by regulation a table identifying covered injuries presumed to be directly caused by a covered countermeasure.

The CICP has compensated 60 COVID-19 vaccine injury claims through June 2026, nearly all for myocarditis, with average compensation of $4,000 aside from a few large payments.

About 99 percent of applications have been rejected. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine stated in 2024 that COVID-19 vaccines definitely cause myocarditis and shoulder injuries. Dr.