The Ministry of Health and Welfare has agreed to pay NT$20,000 (US$649.65) under the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) to a Taichung teenager who developed myocarditis and pericarditis after receiving the Pfizer-BNT vaccine.
The decision came in the wake of a regularly held meeting under the program last month to determine if individuals should receive compensation for serious side effects from vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, even if no direct link between the vaccine and side effects is definitively established.
Central Epidemic Command Center spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (???) said Saturday that the Taichung teenager developed chest discomfort and nausea four days after getting a dose of the Pfizer-BNT vaccine.
Doctors then diagnosed the youth as having myocarditis and pericarditis, which causes inflammation to the heart muscles as well as swelling and irritation to heart tissue.
The panel of experts at the meeting convened under the VICP said the heart conditions were documented side effects of the Pfizer-BNT vaccine, and it decided to award the youth NT$20,000 in compensation.
That case was one of 89 compensation claims covered at a VICP meeting on Nov. 24.
The panel approved a total of 10 of the 89 claims, with two of them related to the Pfizer-BNT COVID-19 vaccine, six related to the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine, and the other two related to the Moderna vaccine.
The other successful Pfizer BNT claimant was also awarded NT$20,000, while the successful AZ claimants were awarded between NT$10,000 and NT$300,000.
The claimants in the Moderna vaccine cases were awarded NT$14,000 and NT$300,000.
One of the two individuals who received a NT$300,000 payout was a Taoyuan woman in her 30s who developed thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, a documented clinical side effect of the AZ vaccine.
The other claimant who was paid NT$300,000 was a Hualien woman in her 80s who received the Moderna vaccine.
In her case, the panel said it could not establish a connection between the vaccine and her heart symptoms as she was not in the age group in which the symptoms are commonly seen.
Moreover, the Hualien woman had underlying conditions, including high blood pressure and diabetes, and had also had a stroke.
The panel decided, however, to award her NT$300,000 in compensation because of the symptoms she suffered after getting vaccinated.
The highest payout allowed under the VICP is NT$6 million.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel