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People who may have suffered life-changing side effects after receiving a vaccine are being invited to have their say on the UK's Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS).

Dr. Emmanuelle Lemaire, from the ºÚÁÏÍø, and Professor Richard Goldberg, from Durham University, have launched the questionnaire to allow people to share their experiences of engaging with the VDPS.

It forms part of a wider research project exploring the challenges people face when applying – or thinking about applying – to the VDPS, and how the system could be improved.

The VDPS is a government-funded initiative set up in 1979, offering a one-off tax-free payment of £120,000 to individuals severely injured by a vaccine.

Current data shows successful claims total just 5.3% of all applications processed.

In 2025, more than half of all applications were related to the Covid-19 vaccine, yet only .

The issue surrounding compensation from the Covid-19 vaccine has been widely covered in both the media and during the ongoing Covid-19 inquiry.

Essex Law School's Dr Lemaire, said: “The immense challenges faced by victims of the Covid-19 vaccines in accessing financial redress may have wider implications, as it may further contribute to the erosion of public trust in future vaccination programmes and a reduction in vaccination rates during future global pandemics.”

Dr Lemaire added: “Understanding the experiences of those who have used the scheme is very important to learning how it can be improved. We are also keen to hear from individuals who have decided not to apply for a VDPS payment after suffering serious injury from a vaccine, so we can learn what the barriers are that prevented them from applying.”

The results of the survey will be analysed with the help of Essex’s Institute for Public Health and Wellbeing, and will help to inform the research project being carried out by Dr Lemaire and Professor Goldberg.

If you are over 18, and have either applied for yourself, on behalf of a family member, or on behalf of a loved one who has passed away, Dr. Lemaire and Professor Goldberg would like to hear from you.

The research team are urging anyone who has thought about applying to this scheme, but decided not to, to consider taking part in the questionnaire.