Alliance, 40+ Partners Appeal to Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines Ahead of Meeting
Published December 19, 2025
Today, the Alliance for Aging Research and 40+ partner organizations submitted a letter to the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines (ACCV), writing to express our support for the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program as a cornerstone of U.S. vaccine infrastructure and public health. The VICP was created to uphold the “grand bargain” by ensuring that, in exchange for broad vaccine access and liability protections for manufacturers, individuals who experience rare but serious vaccine-related injuries have access to compensation. The program is integral to vaccine infrastructure, and allows Americans to protect one another by taking vaccines, while also ensuring that biopharmaceutical companies continue to invest in vaccine clinical development. Since the program’s inception, nearly 9,500 individuals have received more than $4.5 billion in compensation.
The letter urges the ACCV to uphold the VICP’s due process and transparent procedures, including robust notice and comment opportunities before implementing substantive program changes. Modifications that bypass established processes risk undermining public confidence and disrupting the program’s essential functions.
We also note our concerns about proposals to add autism or autism symptoms to the Vaccine Injury Table. Such an expansion could overwhelm the program’s resources, fundamentally alter its no-fault design, and collapse the distinction between compensation and causation in a way that jeopardizes both public health and vaccine innovation.