Senator writes legislation that would cover veterans disabled by reactions to military-administered vaccines

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

WASHINGTON — When U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Josef Lopez (pictured) returned to his Missouri home three years ago in a wheelchair, the result of spinal damage caused by an adverse reaction to a government-ordered smallpox vaccine, he was left with some hefty bills.

Lopez applied for the Servicemember Group Life Insurance benefit, a one-time payment of up to $100,000 for severely injured military members, but was denied because injuries caused by vaccine reactions aren’t covered by the benefit.

Lopez, 23, met Oct. 22 with Sen. Claire McCaskill (pictured left in photo), D-Mo., who has authored legislation that would cover veterans disabled by reactions to military-administered vaccines and help put an estimated $75,000 in the Lopez family’s pocket.

“I didn’t get shot, but I still have the same resulting problems,” Lopez said. “I know there’s a lot of other service members like me right now. They come home and I don’t think they have the support that other service members do.”

Lopez’s afflictions started in 2006, when he started feeling numbness in his legs one week after arriving in Iraq. Lopez was immediately flown to a hospital in Germany, where he slipped into a coma for a week. He then spent about a month and a half recovering in Maryland before returning to Springfield, Mo., his hometown, for physical therapy.

Doctors don’t know what caused the adverse reaction to the smallpox vaccine, which Lopez said was administered about two weeks before he was hospitalized. A 2007 Department of Defense study found about 1.2 million smallpox vaccines had been administered between 2002 and 2007. Of those, about 200 caused adverse reactions.

Lopez can now walk, but still suffers from various ailments. He can’t stand for long periods of time, walks with a limp, takes pills four times per day to calm leg spasms and often is tired because of the medicine’s side effects.

Lopez’s medical care is covered by the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs, but the ordeal saddled his family with thousands of dollars in bills. Lopez’s mother, Barbara, lost two night jobs and didn’t work for two months while staying by her son’s hospital bedside in Maryland after the illness. Lopez also had to widen doors in his house and get a wheelchair ramp, costs not covered by the government.

“There was a big financial hardship for us that we just had to deal with,” Barbara Lopez said. “I’ve worked two jobs ever since, trying to pay people back who loaned me money, and Joe has ongoing expenses.”

McCaskill’s bill was taken up Wednesday by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, but there is no timeline for its consideration.

“This is a (Department of Defense) administered vaccination. This is as a direct result of his deployment. There is no reason this family should have to struggle financially like they have as a result of his illness,” McCaskill said. ”The will is there (to pass the legislation). It’s just getting it across the finish line in a place where we have as many things under consideration as we have here.”