Request

You asked us:

‘A) Since January 2021, how many mandatory reversals have they been made regarding Covid vaccines? (By mandatory reversal, I mean when an applicant has been previously accepted for causation, they have appealed an aspect of the decision, then the initial causation decision is reversed).

B) Out of these, how many relate to death and how many relate to disablement.

C) Please provide further details as to the types of conditions covered by these reversals, for example, VITT.’

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 25 March 2025.

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

Our response

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested.

Fewer than five

Please be aware that I have decided not to release the full details where the total number of individuals falls below five. This is because the information is exempt under section 40(2) of the FOIA (personal information).

This is because it would breach the first data protection principle as:

a) it is not fair to disclose individual’s personal details to the world and is likely to cause damage or distress

b) these details are not of sufficient interest to the public to warrant an intrusion into the privacy of the individual

Please see the following link to view the section 40 exemption in full - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/40

Breach of Confidentiality

Please note that the identification of individuals is also a breach of the common law duty of confidence. An individual who has been identified could make a claim against the NHSBSA for the disclosure of the confidential information.

The information requested is therefore being withheld as it falls under the exemption in section 41(1) ‘Information provided in confidence’ of the Freedom of Information Act.

Please see the following link to view the section 41 exemption in full - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/41

Question A

‘Since January 2021, how many mandatory reversals have they been made regarding Covid vaccines? (By mandatory reversal, I mean when an applicant has been previously accepted for causation, they have appealed an aspect of the decision, then the initial causation decision is reversed).’

If the claimant disagrees with the medical assessor’s decision and wants to challenge it, they can request that their claim is assessed again. This is called a mandatory reversal.

As part of the mandatory reversal process, medical assessors will fully consider all aspects of the claim again, including eligibility, causation and disablement. Medical assessors consider all available evidence, including medical records and scientific evidence (which may have evolved) at the time of the assessment.

Please be advised that since the disclosure of FOI-02679, where we confirmed that there were 11 claims where, following a mandatory reversal, the medical assessor recommended, on the balance of probabilities, that the vaccine had not caused the disablement (causation) this the figure has increased by fewer than five.

We are therefore unable to provide the number of mandatory reversals, as of 31 March 2025 because this figure has increased by fewer than five. Provision of the data may cause individuals to become identifiable when compared with information which is already in the public domain or may reasonably become available. Therefore, as detailed above, in accordance with section 40(2) and section 41 of FOIA, we are unable to provide an updated figure.

Under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 to qualify for a Vaccine Damage Payment, it must be proved that:

• an eligible vaccine was received
• the vaccine caused the disability, on the balance of probabilities,
• the resulting disablement is severe

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:

• https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/4/contents 
• https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1982/1408/schedule/2

You can view FOI-02679 using the following link:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02679

Question B

‘Out of these, how many relate to death and how many relate to disablement.’

The NHSBSA has reviewed the 11 mandatory reversals mentioned in question A where, following a mandatory reversal, the medical assessor recommended, on the balance of probabilities, that the vaccine had not caused the disablement (causation). This was to determine whether the original claim was in relation to death or disablement.

All requests for a mandatory reversal mentioned in our response to question A were in relation to disablement and none of the initial claims were in relation to the death of the vaccinated person.

Question C

‘Please provide further details as to the types of conditions covered by these reversals, for example, VITT.’

Please be advised we are unable to provide further details as to the types of conditions covered by the reversals mentioned in our response to question A. This is because providing the name of the condition is likely to increase the identifiability of the individuals. Therefore, as detailed above, in accordance with section 40(2) and section 41 of FOIA, we are unable to provide this information.

Data Queries

Please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk 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.

Reusing the data and copyright

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk. 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 2025” This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence:

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.