Bill > HR9672

This bill, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Modernization Act of 2026, aims to update the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) by increasing the minimum number of Special Masters (adjudicators of claims) from eight to ten, and establishing longer terms for their appointments, with initial terms of four years and potential reappointments for up to eight years, while also requiring them to report on petition backlogs and recommend improvements. The bill also expands the scope of vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for compensation consideration to include adults and pregnant women, and shortens the timeframe for such recommendations from two years to six months after a vaccine is approved. Compensation for vaccine-related deaths is increased to $600,000, and compensation for pain and suffering is also capped at $600,000, while the statute of limitations for filing claims is extended from 36 months to five years. Furthermore, the bill specifically addresses COVID-19 vaccines by requiring their addition to the Vaccine Injury Table, making them eligible for compensation, and clarifying that claims under the NVICP and the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP) are considered concurrent remedies, without affecting the liability protections for covered countermeasures under federal law. Finally, the bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to add several vaccines, including those against dengue, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), respiratory syncytial virus, herpes zoster (shingles), and generally any licensed or emergency-use vaccine commercially distributed in the U.S., to the list of taxable vaccines, and increases the excise tax on certain vaccines from 75 cents to $2.20, with specific effective dates for these tax changes.