General Information on Compensation for Vaccine Injuries

The authorities want the population to get vaccinated to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Therefore, the state has created a national vaccination program, for which it is responsible.

Compensation for Vaccines in the National Vaccination Program

Vaccines included in the national program are so-called recommended vaccines. These vaccines apply to specific target groups, and today this includes:

• Vaccinations against coronavirus disease, see the coronavirus vaccination program (we assume that the recommended coronavirus vaccines apply to specific target groups from November 1, 2024)
• Vaccines given through the childhood vaccination program
• Vaccine against seasonal influenza for specific risk groups, see the influenza vaccination program
• Vaccinations against pandemic influenza, see the influenza vaccination program

There are specific rules regarding causation and evidence that make it easier to receive compensation for injuries from recommended vaccines compared to other vaccines. You can find these rules in the Patient Injury Act.

You are entitled to compensation as long as the vaccine in the vaccination program can be the cause of the injury, and there are no other more likely causes.

Be aware that the usual threshold in our case processing, that the treatment injury must have led to an economic loss of at least NOK 10,000, does not apply to cases related to the coronavirus vaccine. In such cases, NPE covers expenses caused by the injury from the first krone, provided the other conditions are met. See more about what is required to receive compensation here.

Compensation for Other Vaccine Injuries

Examples of other vaccines are those you take voluntarily. This can include vaccines for business and leisure travel, vaccines against ticks, rabies, etc.

Regarding side effects from these vaccines, the starting point is that you are entitled to compensation if the vaccine most likely caused an injury. You have the right to compensation regardless of whether there is something wrong with the vaccine or if there has been a failure in the administration of the vaccination.

To determine whether the vaccine caused an injury, we use expert specialists in the fields of vaccines, neurology, infectious diseases, and internal medicine.

In these cases, the same requirements for the connection between injury and treatment apply as in other patient injury cases.

Compensation for Drug Injuries

NPE also handles compensation claims on behalf of pharmaceutical manufacturers through the Drug Insurance. This applies to all drug injuries, including vaccine injuries such as travel vaccines and tick vaccines.