Top Lawmaker Pushes to Strip COVID Vaccine Makers of Legal Immunity, Opening Floodgates to Lawsuits
“Americans deserve the right to seek justice when injured by government-mandated products."
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has introduced legislation that could radically change the legal landscape for COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers and others involved in pandemic-era public health measures.
The bill, called the PREP Repeal Act (H.R.4388), aims to eliminate the sweeping liability shield granted under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act of 2005, which currently protects vaccine makers, health professionals, and manufacturers of masks and other countermeasures from being sued for injuries or deaths related to their products.
If passed, the bill would retroactively expose these entities to lawsuits dating back to March 10, 2020 — effectively reopening the courthouse doors to thousands of individuals whose injury claims were previously barred by federal immunity.
“The 2005 PREP Act prevents people from holding corporations accountable for the pain and suffering they cause during Presidentially declared emergencies,” Massie said. “Americans deserve the right to seek justice when injured by government-mandated products. The PREP Repeal Act will restore that right.”
The PREP Act was originally passed to shield manufacturers and healthcare workers from legal liability during national public health emergencies. It covers a wide range of actors — from pharmaceutical giants to pharmacists, doctors, and even companies that produced personal protective equipment (PPE).
While the COVID-19 emergency declaration officially ended in May 2023, the liability protections under the PREP Act were extended through December 2029 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This marks the twelfth extension since the emergency was first declared in 2020.
Massie and legal experts argue this ongoing shield has gone too far — trampling state law, undermining accountability, and leaving injured Americans with virtually no legal recourse.
“Here’s why I call the PREP Act medical malpractice martial law,” Massie told the Brian Thomas Morning Show. “It’s a federal law that says none of the state laws apply, and I think it’s a violation of the 10th Amendment.”
The scope of potential litigation is vast. The bill would allow lawsuits not just against vaccine makers like Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and AstraZeneca, but also against companies that produced PPE, school and pharmacy personnel who administered vaccines, and even those who developed or promoted unproven diagnostic tools like PCR tests — all of which fall under the Act’s definition of “covered countermeasures.”
“If somebody made a mask that had cancer particles on it, and you inhaled those … too bad, they’re covered by the PREP Act,” Massie said. “I don’t like lawsuits, but they do keep corporations sort of in check.”
According to attorney Ray Flores, senior counsel for Children’s Health Defense, the repeal would have sweeping effects. He called the PREP Act’s protections “sweeping liability shields that condone every conceivable medical atrocity,” and said repealing it would dismantle the pandemic-era framework that insulated pharmaceutical and healthcare companies from public accountability.
Other legal analysts echoed that view. Attorney Rick Jaffe said the bill is retroactive and would allow Americans injured by COVID-19 countermeasures — including vaccines — to directly sue manufacturers and administrators:
“The bill, if passed, allows people injured by the COVID shots to sue, presumably, the manufacturers as well as those who administered the shots.”
Jaffe called the PREP Act a “legal black hole” that replaced traditional due process with an unreviewable administrative process under the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP).
That program has been widely criticized as ineffective and opaque. According to HHS data, of the 13,836 CICP claims filed related to COVID-19, only 75 were found eligible for compensation. Just 39 of those were paid as of June 1. That’s a success rate of less than 0.3% — leading critics to label the CICP “dismal.”
If the bill passes, one possible next step would be transferring COVID-related injury claims into the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) — known as the “vaccine court.” The VICP was designed for routine childhood and prenatal vaccines and includes more robust procedural protections than the CICP. But experts say that shift wouldn’t be simple.
Wayne Rohde, author of The Vaccine Court, said the legislation leaves several questions unanswered: How would pending CICP claims be handled? Would unreviewed petitions be transferred to the VICP? And what about the fact that COVID-19 vaccines are no longer part of the CDC’s routine schedule for healthy children and pregnant women — a key requirement for VICP eligibility?
“That creates all sorts of new problems,” Rohde said.
Despite vocal support from advocacy groups and legal scholars, the bill’s prospects in Congress remain uncertain.
A similar bill introduced last year — the LIABLE Act (H.R.7551) — stalled in committee. Critics of the PREP Repeal Act say powerful pharmaceutical lobbying and political inertia pose major obstacles.
Flores was blunt: “The bill, in theory, is just what we need. However, implementing it would cause utter chaos… The prospects [of passage] are slim to none.”
Dr. Meryl Nass, founder of Door to Freedom, said public support will be essential: “It will probably only pass if Americans get behind it in a big way.”
Dr. Joel Wallskog, an orthopedic surgeon injured by a COVID-19 vaccine and now co-chair of React19, emphasized that legislation — rather than executive action — is the only way to create lasting reform.
“Executive orders can simply be reversed by the next HHS secretary. Legislative change is much more powerful with more staying power.”
Massie’s PREP Repeal Act would mark a fundamental shift in how pandemic-era health policy is handled in the United States. It seeks to restore individual rights to sue, dismantle what critics call a legal fortress around pharmaceutical companies, and potentially pave the way for mass litigation related to COVID-19 injuries.
Whether it gains momentum or fades like past efforts may depend less on politics and more on whether the public demands a change.
Covid vaccine accountability might finally be coming.
If new legislation can gain traction in Congress, we might finally stop Big Pharma from treating Americans like their guineau pigs.