COVID Vaccine Makers Get Another Free Pass as Biden Administration Extends Liability Shield Through 2029

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) extended liability protection to COVID-19 vaccine makers and those administering the shots through Dec. 31, 2029. The extension takes effect Jan. 1, 2025.

HHS Secretary Xavier Beccera said the extension is needed because COVID-19 poses a “credible risk” to public health now and in the future.

“I have determined that the spread of SARS-CoV-2 or a virus mutating therefrom and the resulting disease COVID-19 constitutes a credible risk of a future public health emergency,” Beccera said in the announcement.

“Development of and stockpiling vaccines, therapeutics, devices, and diagnostics for COVID-19 continues to be needed for U.S. preparedness against the credible threat of a public health emergency due to outbreaks of COVID-19,” Beccera added.

Kim Mack Rosenberg, general counsel for Children’s Health Defense (CHD), called the last-minute move by the Biden administration “very concerning” because it protects industry and the government and “allows for largely unfettered product development.”

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