Slaughter and May advises on the establishment of a pan-African No Fault Compensation Scheme for COVID-19 vaccines

Slaughter and May advised on the establishment of the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust No Fault Compensation Scheme (AVAT NFCS). The AVAT NFCS will provide compensation for valid claims from individuals who suffer a serious adverse event, that results in permanent impairment or death due to the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine that was procured by the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) and distributed within a participating member state of the African Union or Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

 The AVAT NFCS was established following the signing of a historic COVID-19 vaccine procurement agreement on 28 March 2021 between Johnson & Johnson (Janssen), AVAT and the African Export-Import Bank (the Agreement) pursuant to which member states of the African Union and CARICOM will have access to 220 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, with the potential to order an additional 180 million doses.

 At the scheme’s outset, inhabitants of 42 African and Caribbean states will be able to apply for compensation via www.avatclaims.com should they suffer a rare serious adverse event as a result of the administration of an AVAT-procured vaccine.

 The AVAT NFCS will be administered by ESIS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chubb Insurance Company, the largest publicly traded insurer in the world. ESIS is a boutique third-party claims administrator specialising in pharmaceutical, life science and healthcare claims administration.