Managers of a federal COVID-19 vaccine compensation fund paid at taxpayers’ expense failed to post the number of injury and death claims due June 1, 2025. According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the concealed data follows a 2021 Privy Council memo that urged staff to downplay vaccine-related impacts.The Vaccine Injury Support Program had updated claims figures every six months since its launch in 2021. Managers for the first time skipped a deadline to update statistics due June 1. No reason was given. Managers did not reply to questions, said the outlet..IN-DEPTH: Canadian doctors pursue answers on pandemic-era unexplained deaths among Alberta children .Failure to disclose the data followed a December 17 health department memo that acknowledged the program originally budgeted at $75 million would go over budget. Higher costs were driven by larger than expected claims, said the memo .“A total $75 million in funding has been earmarked for the first five years of the program and $9 million on an ongoing basis,” it said.“However the overall cost of the program is dependent on the volume of claims and compensation awarded over time, and that the demand remains at very high levels.”“The purpose of this funding is to ensure people in Canada who experience a serious and permanent injury as a result of receiving a Health Canada authorized vaccine administered in Canada on or after December 8, 2020 have access to a fair and timely financial support mechanism.”.COVID jab for Canadian pregnant women upheld, despite US policy change .The last program update on December 1 indicated 3,060 claims were received to date including injuries and deaths. A total 219 were approved with payouts totaling $16,574,972. Payouts ranged from reimbursement of medical bills to funeral expenses.Concealment of updated figures followed a 2021 Access To Information memo in which the Privy Council secretly recommended authorities downplay vaccine-related deaths and injuries.“Adverse effects following immunization news reports and the government’s response to them have the potential to shake public confidence in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout,” said the memo.“News reports of adverse events following immunization and the government’s response to them have strong potential to influence public confidence in vaccines and their safety.”“The current study proactively tested the impact of various messaging strategies delivered through different messengers in response to a hypothetical adverse effect following immunization.”The memo suggested authorities use “various messaging strategies” like skewing statistics or making reassuring statements such as the “chance of it happening to me is one in a million.”It recommended that managers “identify winning communication strategies to maximize public confidence in the government’s COVID regulatory regime.”
