News Briefs
News Briefs
Guidelines issued on smallpox liability
Guidance outlining protections from liability for injury or death arising from the administration of small pox vaccine has been issued by the Department of Health and Human Services.
One section specifies that "hospitals and other institutions that operate as vaccination clinics" are covered by provisions of Section 304 of the Homeland Security Act. It also states that "the . . . declaration may determine that hospitals that designate employees to receive smallpox countermeasures under a state’s smallpox plan are considered to be participants in the program and thus are health care entities under whose auspices the countermeasure is administered."
The guidance specifically says that hospitals whose employees are vaccinated elsewhere would be protected by Section 304.
Another section states, "If a work-related injury is covered by a particular state’s workers’ compensation law, that state law will determine whether the worker can sue any other person aside from the employer."
Meanwhile, reports in the Los Angeles Times and other publications have indicated that the number of frontline health care workers expected to volunteer to be inoculated against smallpox had shrunk dramatically, with some states still months away from launching their vaccination campaigns.
A telephone survey by the Los Angeles Times of public health officials in 20 states revealed several reasons for the trend, including what the officials said was a lack of additional liability protection for hospitals. Other reasons cited were the absence of guaranteed compensation for vaccinated health care workers who lose time on the job, a growing sense that a smallpox attack is not imminent, and a deeper understanding of the vaccine’s risk.
Federal rule making focus of new web site
Users can find a federal document, read the full text of the regulation and submit comments on-line via a web site launched recently by the Office of Management and Budget and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The web site, www.regulations.gov, is designed to make the federal rule-making process more accessible and enable the public to quickly access and comment on rules from all federal agencies, federal officials have said.
The so-called E-Rulemaking initiative is part of the president’s E-government strategy to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the federal government.
Guidelines issued on smallpox liability; Federal rule making focus of new web site.Subscribe Now for Access
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