FOI-03566

Thank you for your request for information about the following: 

<strong>Request</strong>

You asked us:

<i>‘As per the FOI-03339 and the new update in NHS BSA (Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme COVID-19 claim volumes and outcomes - Datasets - Open Data Portal) dataset was updated to 83 (till July, 2025) from 80 (as previously reported) bereaved person (cumulative count) awarded claims.

As per the new dataset (Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme COVID-19 claim volumes and outcomes - 2025 to 2026, Quarter 3, dated 27th January, 2026) there were 246 awarded claims (cumulative count).

1.	Can you tell me how many of these 83 bereaved persons are associated with to AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine?
2.	As per the reports of these 83 concerned people how many reports are associated with to AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine only?
3.	As per the reports of these 83 concerned people how many reports are associated with to single dose of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine only?
4.	As per the reports of these 83 concerned people how many reports are associated with to two doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine only?
5.	As per the reports of these 83 concerned people how many reports are associated with to more than two doses of COVID-19 vaccine where AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine is mentioned?’</i>

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 28 January 2026.

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

<strong>Our response</strong>

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested. 

All data provided is based on the information the NHSBSA published on its Open Data Portal on 27 January 2026 and relates to COVID-19 vaccines only. All data relates to claims received by the NHSBSA and those transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on 1 November 2021.

To protect confidentiality, some cells published as part of the dataset were intentionally left blank where the number of claimants is fewer than five. As such the following information relates to different time periods.

You can view the dataset and its accompanying explanations here:<br>
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/vdps-covid-19. 
 
Under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979, to qualify for a Vaccine Damage Payment, it must be proved that an eligible vaccine was received and:
<ul>
<li>on the balance of probabilities, the vaccine caused the disability
<li>the resulting disablement is severe
</ul>
Severely disabled means at least 60% as defined by the principles for assessing the extent of disablement. These are set out in section 103 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 and the Social Security (General Benefit) Regulations 1982:
<ul>
<li>https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/4/contents
<li>https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1982/1408/schedule/2
</ul>
Medical assessors weigh up all available evidence to see if, on the balance of probabilities, a vaccine caused severe disablement (60% or more). Medical assessors also use resources to support their assessment. 

A list of resources is available online at: <br>
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/vdps-claim-process

Cases are determined on an individual basis using facts from each case. For example, the medical records received directly from healthcare providers involved in a claimant’s care.
Medical assessors write a medical assessment report for each claim. Their medical assessment report explains how they reached their decision and the evidence considered, including the vaccine type and manufacturer.

Medical assessors get vaccine manufacturer information directly from healthcare providers’ medical notes about the vaccinated person.

<strong>Question 1 - Can you tell me how many of these 83 bereaved persons are associated with to AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine?</strong>

Medical assessors are not responsible for determining a cause of death. The assessors weigh up all available evidence to see if, on the balance of probabilities, a vaccine caused severe disablement (60% or more).

Medical assessors write a medical assessment report for each claim. Their medical assessment report explains how they reached their decision and the evidence considered, including the vaccine type and manufacturer. Medical assessors get vaccine manufacturer information directly from healthcare providers’ medical notes about claimants.

Under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979, a claimant does not need to prove that the vaccine definitely caused the disablement – only that it is more likely than not. This is known as “on the balance of probabilities”.

As of 31 July 2025, on the balance of probabilities, 83 claims were awarded where the claimant was bereaved. The reference to bereavement is only to describe the claim was made on behalf of someone who has died and it should not be interpreted as an indication that the death was as a result of the vaccine.

Of these 83 claims, 78 medical assessment reports mention AstraZeneca. This may not have been the only COVID-19 vaccine administered.

<strong>Questions 2 to 5 </strong>

2.	As per the reports of these 83 concerned people how many reports are associated with to AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine only?
3.	As per the reports of these 83 concerned people how many reports are associated with to single dose of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine only?
4.	As per the reports of these 83 concerned people how many reports are associated with to two doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine only?
5.	As per the reports of these 83 concerned people how many reports are associated with to more than two doses of COVID-19 vaccine where AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine is mentioned?’

The NHSBSA may hold some of the requested information; however, we estimate that the cost of compliance with the request would exceed the appropriate limit under section 12 of the FOIA.

We estimate that the cost of complying with your request would exceed the non-central Government limit of £450. The limit has been specified in The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 and represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the NHSBSA holds the information, and locating, retrieving, extracting and checking the information.

This is because the specific COVID-19 vaccine type and number of doses is not recorded in the claim management system. 

Medical records for each claim would therefore need to be individually checked for the required information. 

It would take an estimated combined total of 20.75hrs to check each claim individually (allowing for 15 mins per claim). The likelihood is that this would take longer than the estimated 15 mins per claim.

Therefore, please see the following calculation which sets out the estimated cost for compliance with this request:

83 x 15 minutes = 1215 minutes = 20.75 hours

Please see the following link to view the section 12 in full: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/12

<strong>Advice and Assistance</strong>

Please be advised that due to the way that the information is held by the NHSBSA, it is not possible to submit a refined request under the appropriate limit.

<strong>Data Queries</strong>

Please contact <a href=mailto:foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk>foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a>  ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data.

<strong>Reusing the data and copyright</strong>

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact <a href=mailto:communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk>communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a>. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “NHSBSA Copyright 2026” This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence:<br>
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.

Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.



Tags: NHSBSA corporate, Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, nhsbsa, vdps
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log