Running costs of vaccine damage scheme more than double amount paid to victims

The government scheme to support people injured by Covid vaccines and other jabs has cost £83m to run since March 2022, new figures have revealed. The amount spent on administration costs and medical assessments is more than double the £32m paid out in financial support to victims so far. The Taxpayers' Alliance think tank said the public would be "stunned" at the cost and called for the government to urgently review the scheme.

NHSBSA which runs the scheme for the government says rising numbers of claims are behind the increasing administrative and medical assessor supplier costs. Firm assessing Covid vaccine harm replaced after costs spiral to £48m Families failed by Covid jabs tell inquiry of pain The latest data, external shows there have been 24,260 claims since November 2021, although just 264 have been successful. The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) was set up in 1979 to provide financial support to people who, in rare cases, had been harmed by vaccines of any type.

Since the pandemic the number applying for damage payments has increased sharply. The vast majority of applications are now linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine and other Covid jabs. The benefits of vaccination are well documented.

The AstraZeneca Covid jab is credited with saving millions of lives worldwide. But for those who were harmed, the resulting injuries are devastating. The full costs of the VDPS have now been revealed, external for the first time in the answer to a parliamentary question from the backbench Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chope.

In response, health minister Dame Diana Johnson said a total of £83m had been spent on staffing costs, administration and medical reviews between April 2022 and March 2026. Under the scheme, claimants must have their application reviewed by an independent doctor, to check whether they have met the threshold of "severe disablement". If approved, they can then receive a one-off, tax-free payment of £120,000.

The process can take months or even years. The costs of those medical assessments have increased from £4.3m in 2022/23 to £19.3m in 2025/26, according to new data published by the government. Based on the latest available data up to June 2026, the total amount paid out in damages to those killed or left injured after being given a Covid vaccine has risen to £31.6m.