Supreme Court raises the bar for suits against vaccine producers

The decision, announced Tuesday, will make it harder for parents who maintain that their children were injured by vaccines to file lawsuits against drug makers. Public health advocates say the ruling will help maintain the nation's vaccine supply levels.

PBS Newshour: Vaccine Producers Victorious In Supreme Court Ruling Over Lawsuits
A 6-2 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court today makes it tougher for parents who say their children were injured by vaccines to file lawsuits against drugmakers. … The majority, in an opinion by Justice Scalia, said that the federal law, the National Child Vaccine Injury Act, preempts or blocks state lawsuits based on a claim that a vaccine was defectively designed (2/22).

National Journal: Public Health Lobbyists, Drug Firms On Same Page With SCOTUS Vaccine Decision
The Supreme Court's ruling today that vaccine companies cannot be sued for design defects in state courts will likely maintain a federal system for compensating patients harmed by vaccines that could have been undone by the ruling. In addition, public health advocates say the ruling will help keep the nation's vaccine supply at adequate levels. Public health lobbying groups and pharmaceutical companies were on the same page following the decision, cheering the ruling as an important victory for the nation's health (McCarthy, 2/22).

Detroit Free Press: Court Rules Against Parents In Drug Vaccine Case
The Supreme Court says a federal law bars lawsuits against drug makers for the serious side effects from childhood vaccines. By a 6-2 vote today, the court ruled against the parents of a child who sued the drug maker Wyeth in Pennsylvania state court for the health problems they say their daughter, now 19, suffered from a vaccine she received in infancy (Mitchell, 2/22).