The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) will assume control of the Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP) following revelations of significant flaws in its operation and administration practices. This is a political blow to the program, which was already reeling from the claims backlog and high administrative costs.
Since VISP launched in 2020, we have intentionally centered financial assistance. It advocates for Canadians who suffered acute, serious and permanent injuries from the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Yet the program is indicative, having received 3,317 applications with 1,738 people still waiting for a decision on their claim. So far, VISP has awarded $54.1 million in grants. Its own figures show that as of April 8, 2023, it’s incurred $36.3 million in administrative costs while only disbursing $18.1 million directly to injured Canadians.
Despite these glaring deficiencies, the administration of VISP was contracted out to Oxaro in 2021, which has to date received nearly $50.6 million taxpayer dollars. Oxaro’s cost of operation has increased to $33.7 million, of which only $16.9 million has been set aside for compensation to injured parties. At first, projections were low on how many claims would be expected—40 per year max and a total of 400 valid claims per year at the highest.
On the eve of FPH 2023, health minister Marjorie Michel admitted the failures. She said that the government was working hard to improve VISP’s service delivery and financial assistance.
“PHAC is currently accelerating its audit of Oxaro and Oxaro’s management of the Vaccine Injury Support Program, and the Agency will provide recommendations on alternative delivery models for the program,” – Emilie Gauduchon-Campbell.
The current funding agreement between PHAC and Oxaro runs out on March 31, 2026. When this agreement ends, PHAC will take the administration of VISP in-house. PHAC is therefore taking steps to commit to providing additional information on the program’s delivery and impact. This has been a critical component of their transition journey.
“We will publicly share further details on how the program will be delivered under PHAC when they become available.” – [source not explicitly mentioned].
