More than 500 people are seeking compensation for problems caused by Covid jabs – and that number could soar into the thousands.
Victims of severe side effects can apply for up to £120,000 under the Vaccines Damage Payment Scheme.
But while the Sunday Mirror can reveal 562 have applied since last March, solicitors say no money has been paid by a scheme they say is unfit for purpose.
Critics say that the maximum sum has not changed in 42 years. Under 2% of claims are successful – fewer than 50 from 2,347 claims this century – as applicants have to prove a jab left them 60% disabled.
And the scheme does not cover 1,853 families whose loved ones died soon after having the vaccine.
Sarah Moore, from law firm Hausfeld, is representing several families. She said: “The VDPS is over 40 years old and offers too little, too late, to too few people. The Government can and must do better. We are campaigning for a reformed scheme based on a simple, swift and accessible procedure.”
Vikki Spit and her partner Zion, 48, had spent just one night apart in 21 years before he died from a brain haemorrhage at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary in May.
He had the AstraZeneca jab two weeks earlier and suffered crippling headaches. Vikki, of Alston, Cumbria, has called for grieving families to be added to the scheme.
She said: “Our loved ones are not collateral damage. I have been suffering depression, anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks, insomnia. I am not able to work.”
A government spokesman said: “All vaccines have undergone robust clinical trials.
“The VDPS provides additional support to help ease the burden on individuals who have, in extremely rare circumstances, been severely disabled due to receiving a government- recommended vaccine.”
