Adverse vaccine reactions to be compensated with up to 10 million won

Medical expenses up to 10 million won will be covered for those who suffer major adverse reactions after getting inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine even if the causality between the reactions and vaccine is not proved.

On Monday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced such a blanket compensation scheme for vaccine-related adverse reactions. While there have been cases where the patients suffer cerebral hemorrhage or myelitis after getting a coronavirus jab, they could not receive any compensation as the vaccine’s causality was not established. Thanks to the new compensation scheme, those who experience unexpected reactions from vaccination can have their medical expenses covered starting on May 17 without having to prove their causal relationship with COVID vaccines.

Those who got the jabs before May 17 can also enjoy the medical benefits retroactively. It appears that the female nursing assistant who suffered encephalomyelitis after getting the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 12 is also eligible for the compensation. “There was no sufficient data to reach a conclusion on causality,” said Jeong Eun-kyeong, the commissioner of the KDCA. “We are of the view that this is a case for medical subsidies.”

Unlike the cases where the causality is clearly proved, however, the medical coverage cannot exceed 10 million won. The treatment or nursing expenses or funeral cost originated from other diseases are also excluded. When causality is clearly disproved, compensation won’t be provided at all.


somin@donga.com