Beijing mulls insurance for adverse vaccine reactions

Beijing is considering introducing insurance to cover adverse vaccine reactions, Beijing Health and Family Planning Commission said on its website on April 9.

"Though the probability (of severe abnormal reactions) is only 1 in several million, the reactions have a major effect on children and their families," said Xie Hui, director of the disease prevention and control department under the commission, as quoted by Beijing Times.

"We shouldn't scrap the whole immunization program because of the extremely small probability, but we should compensate the unfortunate families."

According to regulations issued by the State government in 2005, people who suffer abnormal reactions from inoculations provided for free by the government should get government compensation. Those who suffer abnormal reactions from vaccinations that they paid for should be compensated by the vaccine makers.