
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 17, 1990                   TAG: 9005170604
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

VACCINATION-INJURY INFORMATION ON HOTLINE

A toll-free hotline is being set up to tell people about federal compensation for people injured by vaccinations, officials said Wednesday.

The hotline, which opens Friday, is part of the Health Resources and Services Administration's efforts to publicize an Oct. 1 deadline for claims against the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

The program provides compensation for injuries from vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), measles, mumps, rubella and polio.

Claims for injuries that occurred before Oct. 1, 1988, when the program began, must be filed by Oct. 1 this year.

If the deadline is missed, these claims could still be pursued in court, a far slower, more costly and complicated procedure.

Claims for injuries that occurred after Oct. 1, 1988 must be filed against various deadlines according to a complicated schedule set out in the law.

The number for the hotline is 1-800-338-2382, starting Friday.

- Associated Press

by CNB