U. S. federal law established to provide compensation for injury or death related to a reaction to a vaccine.

In 1986, the U.S. Congress passed the Childhood Vaccine Injury Act to provide compensation to families for injury or death related to complications from an immunization while avoiding costly litigation for all parties: the family, the doctor, and the vaccine supplier. The Act was designed, in part, to provide a resolution and compensation in those rare instances where an injury or death occurs in relation to an immunization while not threatening the supply of vaccines. (A manufacturer, faced with lawsuits and costs related to them, could choose to stop manufacturing vaccines; the U.S. government feels the benefits of immunization outweigh the risks, and thus created this program.) The Act covers injury or death related to the DTP vaccine (against diphtheria, tetanus, and...