In the United States Court of Federal Claims 

OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS 

No. 17-0856V 

Filed: September 18, 2017 

UNPUBLISHED 

REYNALDO BELMONTE, JR.,

 Petitioner,

v.

SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES,

 Respondent.

Special Processing Unit (SPU); 

Vaccine Rule 21(a); Order 

Concluding Proceedings

Douglas Lee Burdette, Burdette Law, PLLC, North Bend, WA, for petitioner. 

Glenn Alexander MacLeod, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for 

respondent. 

ORDER CONCLUDING PROCEEDINGS1

 

Dorsey, Chief Special Master: 

On September 15, 2017, the petitioner filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal2 in 

the above-captioned case. Petitioner is alleging as causal the Pneumovax 23 vaccine 

he received on May 12, 2016. See Exhibit 2 at 4 (ECF No. 7-2). This type of 

pneumococcal vaccine is not covered by the Vaccine Program.3

 

 

1

 The undersigned intends to post this unpublished order on the United States Court of Federal Claims' 

website, in accordance with the E-Government Act of 2002. 44 U.S.C. § 3501 note (2012) (Federal 

Management and Promotion of Electronic Government Services). In accordance with Vaccine Rule 18(b), 

petitioner has 14 days to identify and move to redact medical or other information, the disclosure of which 

would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. If, upon review, the undersigned agrees that the 

identified material fits within this definition, the undersigned will redact such material from public access. 

2

 Petitioner filed this motion as a “Joint Motion to Voluntarily Dismiss pursuant to Rule 21(a),” titled the 

underlying document a “Joint Stipulation of Dismissal,” and within the document, indicated the parties 

were seeking dismissal under Vaccine Rule 21(a)(1)(B). (ECF No. 10) (emphasis added). Because 

respondent’s report has not been served or even filed in this case, petitioner may dismiss the petition with 

a notice of dismissal; the motion need not be joint, and the signature of respondent’s counsel is not 

required. See Vaccine Rule 21(a)(1)(A). 

3

“There are two types of pneumococcal vaccines . . . pneumococcal conjugate and polysaccharide 

vaccine[s].” Bundy v. Sec’y or Health & Human Services, No. 12-769V, 2014 WL 348852, at *1 (Fed. Cl. 

Spec. Mstr. Jan. 8, 2014). Only pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, routinely administered to children, 

are covered by the Vaccine Program. Id.; see Morrison v. Sec’y of Health & Human Services, No. 04-
 Accordingly, pursuant to Vaccine Rule 21 (a), the above-captioned case is 

hereby dismissed without prejudice. The Clerk of the Court is hereby instructed that 

a judgment shall not enter in the instant case pursuant to Vaccine Rule 21(a). 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

 s/Nora Beth Dorsey 

 Nora Beth Dorsey 

 Chief Special Master 

 

1683V, 2005 WL 2008245, at *1 (Fed. Cl. Spec. Mstr. July 26, 2005) (describing how and when 

pneumococcal conjugate vaccines were added to the Vaccine Table). The Pneumovax 23 vaccine, 

manufactured by Merck & Co. LLC, is a polyvalent vaccine not covered by the Vaccine Program. 

https://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/ucm179996.htm (last visited 

May 9, 2017). A discussion of the two types of pneumococcal vaccine also can be found at the Centers 

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. See

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/pneumo/public/index.html (last visited May 9, 2017).