On January 7, 2010, the expert consultants serving the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) during 2010-2011 called the first conference.At the conference, several important decisions were made: (1) A new regulation was formulated for reviewing petitions requesting compensation for individuals thought to be injured by a vaccine: The review committee may reimburse a case up to NT$100,000 for all medical charges and examination fees imposed on the case to determine the link between a vaccine adverse event and a vaccine; (2) Another new regulation was formulated for reviewing petitions requesting compensation for individuals thought to be injured by a vaccine: The review committee may reimburse a case who suffers a stillbirth or miscarriage and agrees to performing an autopsy up to NT$50,000 if the case is under 20 weeks pregnant and up to NT$100,000 if the case is over 20 weeks pregnant.

In addition, five petitions, including one obligatory petition, requesting compensation for individuals thought to be injured by the pandemic influenza A (H1N1) vaccine were reviewed during the conference.At the conference, VICP reviewed the cases’ clinical charts, laboratory data, medical treatment, disease development, past medical history, related vaccine characteristics, relevant literature and clinical experiences to determine the cause of each case and the association between the H1N1 vaccine and the case. According to the report released by VICP, all five cases were deemed not associated with the vaccine.

Case # 1 is an 11-year-old boy who experienced dizziness, chills, restless legs, shaky hands and headache 20 minutes after receiving the pandemic H1N1 vaccine. 15 days later, the case developed itchy rash on palms of hands.The case was diagnosed with lupus erythematosus at the hospital.The period between the onset of the neurological symptoms and the vaccination, the case’s clinical presentation and the case’s examination results all indicate absence of neurological dysfunction. Therefore, the case was ruled non-compensable.Nevertheless, the case was reimbursed NT$20,000 for all medical charges and examination fees imposed to determine the link between the case and the H1N1 vaccine according to the new regulation.

Case # 2 is a 16-year-old girl who experienced dizziness, vomiting, shaky hands and weakness in hands 20 minutes after receiving the pandemic H1N1 vaccine. 4 days later, the case was hospitalized for medical treatment.The results of the case’s biochemical blood test and thyroid function test were both normal.The brain MRI showed possible thickening in the right temporal lobe.Her ECG showed signs suggestive of leprosy.The experts determined that the case’s symptoms were not associated with the vaccination.Hence, the case was ruled non-compensable.Nevertheless, the case was reimbursed NT$20,000 for all medical charges and examination fees imposed to determine the link between the case and the H1N1 vaccine according to the new regulation.

Case # 3 is a 16-year-old girl who experienced hyperventilation 10 minutes after receiving the pandemic H1N1 vaccine.Her symptoms improved after resting.However, she subsequently developed shaky head and hands.The experts determined that the case’s symptoms were not associated with the vaccination because shaky head and hands are clinical features of hyperventilation according to medical records and clinical research literature.

Case # 4 is a 15-year-old boy who experienced shortness of breath, chest pain, weakness of limbs, cramps and whites of eyes turning up a day after receiving the pandemic H1N1 vaccine while running during his physical education class. He was diagnosed with hyperventilation and chest pain. The results of his physical examination showed no physical dysfunction. The experts determined that the case had hyperventilation syndrome and his clinical features were not associated with the vaccination according to medical records and clinical research literature.

Case # 5 is a 16-year-old girl who experienced dizziness, nausea, heart palpitation and chest distress 10 minutes after receiving the pandemic H1N1 vaccine. She subsequently developed weakness of limbs.The experts determined that the case’s symptoms were not associated with the vaccination according to medical records, imaging results and clinical research literature.Since an obligatory petition was submitted on behalf of the case, the case was not reimbursed for related medical charges and examination fees imposed to determine the link between the case and the H1N1 vaccine according to the new regulation.However, if the case later decides to file a petition on her own behalf to figure out if her symptoms are associated with the H1N1 vaccine she received, she will be reimbursed for the medical charges and examinations fees.

As of January 8, 2010, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) has received a total of 58 claims requesting compensation for individuals thought to be injured by the pandemic influenza A (H1N1) vaccine. VICP has completed reviewing 15 petitions.One case was ruled compensable while the other fourteen cases were ruled non-compensable.Additionally, one obligatory petition was also ruled non-compensable because the case was not associated with the vaccination.