Welcome to 2020's second edition of Product Lines, our e-newsletter that focuses on toxic torts and product liability issues.

For this edition, we are reporting on several important and timely legal issues. As you will see, we strive to make these e-blasts both informative and valuable by having our attorneys comment on WHY these issues are important and how they could affect your business....

AstraZeneca Gets Protection from Future Product Liability Claims for COVID Vaccine -

"With 25 companies testing their vaccine candidates on humans and getting ready to immunize hundred millions of people once the products are shown to work, the question of who pays for any claims for damages in case of side effects has been a tricky point in supply negotiations."

Why this is important: As numerous countries work out indemnification details for pharmaceutical companies searching for a COVID-19 vaccine, the United States has invoked the 2005 Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act ("PREP Act") to protect pharmaceutical companies from future state and federal product liability claims in relation to any COVID-19 vaccine. In a declaration effective February 4, 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human Services invoked the PREP Act and declared COVID-19 to be a public health emergency warranting liability protections for covered countermeasures....