Title 42 › Chapter 6A— PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › Subchapter XIX— VACCINES › Part 2— National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program › Subpart a— program requirements › § 300aa–19
Creates an Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines made up of nine appointed members and four nonvoting government members. The nine appointees must include three health professionals who are not federal employees (at least two must be pediatricians), three people from the public (at least two must be legal representatives of children who suffered vaccine-related injury or death), and three attorneys (at least one who represents injured people and one who represents vaccine makers). The Director of NIH, the Assistant Secretary for Health, the Director of CDC, and the Commissioner of FDA (or their designees) are nonvoting ex officio members. Appointed members serve 3-year terms, with the first group staggered so three serve 1 year, three serve 2 years, and three serve 3 years as set by the Secretary. The commission must meet first within 60 days after all members are named, then at least four times a year and whenever the chair calls a meeting. Five voting members make a quorum, and decisions are by majority of voting members present. Federal employees on the commission get no extra pay; nonfederal members may be paid up to the daily equivalent of GS‑18 and may receive travel and per diem under section 5703 of title 5. The Secretary must give the commission staff, information, and consultants it needs. The commission must advise the Secretary on running the Program; recommend changes to the Vaccine Injury Table on its own or after a petition; advise on the need for childhood vaccines that cause fewer or no serious adverse reactions under section 300aa–27; review federal, state, and local efforts to collect vaccine injury information (including reporting under section 300aa–25(b)) and advise on how to get and use reliable data; and recommend vaccine-injury research to the Director of the National Vaccine Program.
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The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
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42 U.S.C. § 300aa–19
Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60