repeal the national childhood vaccine act of 1986

good products do not need universal liability shields, but bad actors are enabled by them

much as been made about the possibility of schools mandating covid vaccinations for kids to be allowed to attend.

it may or may not happen. perhaps it will be treated like a flu shot. perhaps they’ll try for requirements. it’s likely to vary place to place and many states are already saying “no way” and if imposed this could cause flood of school change and really unleash the idea of vouchers and free choice and a swansong for public schools.

in the end, i’m not sure how many are crazy enough to try it and honestly, i doubt that any public school system in america could survive for long mandating this.

i doubt that this is really what the approval is about.

it’s about the liability shield and the subsidies.

and that is a thing we need to fix.

longtime gatopal™ jennifer cabrera has a simple, common sense solution here:

Jennifer Cabrera 😀 @jhaskinscabrera

If the predicted red wave produces a strong Republican majority in Congress, one of their first acts should be to repeal the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. No excuses, Republicans. Liability is the only mechanism that can produce safe vaccines.

because this law is an abomination.

it creates ALL the wrong incentives and has swollen the US pediatric vaccine schedule (which used to be 3 well tested vaxxes, MMR, DTP, polio) with ineffective or marginally effective crap lacking valid risk reward and possessing meaningful side effect tails.

the case for several (HPV, flu, rota, pneumococcal) is basically non-extant.

but hey, no liability, no need to worry.

interestingly, gardasil does not appear to have this coverage hence the mass of lawsuits.

stop me if this sounds familiar:

landing in court on this is not, perhaps “the system working” as this vaccine looks to have been approved and marketed on numerous false pretenses and perhaps outright fraud but it at least the system is cleaning up its mess after the fact and discouraging such behavior in the future.

and the covid vaccines put all the others in the shade in terms of corners cut and data looking dodgy. but if we shield them and other things like them from liability, where is the disincentive to act badly? (and if you just said “because the drug companies wouldn’t lie to us!” i have some denver harbor bonds to sell you.)

you can get around this exemption by pfinding phraud, but should this really be necessary (especially when they hide the data and thus could have all sorts of little gems in it that the public had not seen)?

so how about we end this harmful “safe harbor” instead?

there is NO good consumer protection reason for this act. it’s a license for pharma to misbehave and it eliminates accountability and incentive to test properly. if you want to jab your drugs into kids, you need to own the side effects.

if you fail to predict or disclose risks, you own the ill outcomes instantly and forever.

let them decide, on that basis, how many studies to do and for how long prior to release.

i would LOVE to see what a class action jury award for fraud in a child vaccine lawsuit looks like.

this is the reason we have a tort system.

let it work.

it’s really simple:

either get voluntary informed consent risk waivers or stop mandating drugs.

mandate + no liability = disaster and “soft mandates” are just as bad.

everyone passes the buck to claim “iT wUZ nEvER a MAnDatE!” when they know full well that it functionally was.

how many times did you see this?

you mandate, you own the side effects. simple, reasonable, and incentive aligning.

this is one we can easily do.

we made this law. it has had perverse, anti-consumer effects. so let’s unmake it.

no more liability waivers.

only voluntary informed consent to risk subject to strict disclosure liability. “oh, we never tested for that!” is no longer an excuse.

i am not saying you get to sue for any bad outcome. but if the risks were not disclosed or were misstated you can. if they did not look for fear of what might be found, they own that. the onus is on the to proves safety and delineate risks and share them accurately and completely.

this encourages full, accurate reporting so people can make real, informed decisions.

it’s kind of stunning that we don’t have this.

if any public agency requires a jab, they become liable for bad outcomes.

no one gets forced and drug companies need to make a case for risk reward that will convince people and providers of healthcare.

let the market find the proper level of testing and reporting.

because healthcare is everywhere and always a cost benefit decision.

and you need free choice and sound data to make such choices well.

not exactly rocket surgery, is it?

or did you need another tour of the land of perverse incentives and regulatory capture?