(The Epoch Times)—A majority of voters say immunity for pharmaceutical firms should be removed in cases where the companies’ vaccines cause injuries, according to a new poll.
Sixty percent of voters responding to the poll agreed that vaccine manufacturers should be stripped of immunity in such cases, including 33 percent who strongly backed withdrawing the immunity.
Majorities across all age groups, genders, and races also supported the immunity abolishment.
Just 27.5 percent of respondents did not think the immunity should end, while 12.6 percent of respondents said they were not sure.
The survey was carried out by Big Data Poll for the 1776 Law Center.
“Few single issues enjoy more support across every group of Americans than ending all immunity for Big Pharma,” Robert Barnes, the civil rights and criminal defense attorney who heads the law center, said in a statement. “That includes their vaccines when those vaccines cause injury.”
“As we have seen with food and financial freedoms, the proposals are supported most vigorously among the voters the administration badly needs to win back over,” Big Data Poll Director Rich Baris added. “That includes voters below 65 years old and minorities that previously voted for the president in 2024.”
The poll was conducted from Feb. 16 to Feb. 18 among 2,012 registered voters. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.1 percent.
The 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act granted immunity to vaccine companies for vaccine injuries “if the injury or death resulted from side effects that were unavoidable even though the vaccine was properly prepared and was accompanied by proper directions and warnings.”
The immunity does not cover instances where manufacturers engaged in fraud, wrongfully withheld information from the government prior to approval of a vaccine, improperly withheld information following approval, or engaged in “other criminal or illegal activity relating to the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.”
The law also created a vaccine injury compensation program that places the government in the position of defending against petitions alleging injury. In some cases, injured people are paid by the government from a pool of money funded by a tax on vaccines. There is a backlog of cases awaiting medical review, officials said in connection with a recent Department of Health and Human Services budget request.
Prior to the act, people were able to sue companies in court for damages.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has floated a proposal to address the issue, including by adding symptoms associated with autism as eligible for compensation.
Members of Congress have also introduced multiple bills that would alter or remove the immunity protection. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) unveiled one such bill early in February, saying in a statement that “when it comes to vaccines … the rules are rigged: you’re funneled into a federal no-fault program that limits damages, restricts your options, and—in many cases—leaves people without real justice.”
