Tennessee Voices, Episode 245: Daniel Alholm, vaccine injury attorney
As I write this Tennessee Voices podcast episode introduction, I want to make clear that my guest Daniel Alholm is not a vaccine denier or opponent.
When Alholm sent me a guest essay submission a few months ago, however, I had to do some deep research to understand his role as a vaccine injury attorney.
It led me down a rabbit hole to learn more about the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP), a 35-year-old government fund that vaccine companies pay into in order to compensate people who have suffered an injury from the administration of a vaccine.
Alholm wrote: "The most common vaccine related injury is called SIRVA, which stands for Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration. SIRVA has nothing to do with the vaccine itself, rather it occurs when the shot is given improperly causing the vaccine to go into the recipient’s bursa."
The COVID-19 vaccine is not covered under NVICP at this time because it is considered a "countermeasure." The Countermeasure Injury Compensation Program (CICP) is not generous and Alholm argues for fairness so that someone injured by the COVID vaccine receives the same access to compensation as someone harmed by the administration of the flu shot.
In this episode, we probed into this complex issue and we also talked about how he has felt the brunt of criticism from people who have politicized the COVID vaccine.
Op-Ed by Daniel Alholm: Let's treat Americans injured by the COVID-19 vaccine fairly
Hear more Tennessee Voices: Get the weekly opinion newsletter for insightful and thought provoking columns.
Sign up for Latino Tennessee Voices newsletter: Read compelling stories for and with the Latino community in Tennessee.
Sign up for Black Tennessee Voices newsletter: Read compelling columns by Black writers from across Tennessee.
Your state. Your stories. Support more reporting like this.
A subscription gives you unlimited access to stories across Tennessee that make a difference in your life and the lives of those around you. Click here to become a subscriber.
About Tennessee Voices
The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which started in March 2020 and invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.
Please email your ideas for future guests to me at dplazas@tennessean.com. Thank you for watching.
Finally, our journalists are working hard during this pandemic to bring you accurate, verified and solid information. Please consider subscribing and supporting local journalism.
Watch past episodes: Tennessee Voices videocast
David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and an editorial board member of The Tennessean. Tweet to him at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vaccine injury attorney Daniel Alholm on fair treatment for people
