# 2024-022 Careers, COVID-19

Case summary

F&R Date: 2025-08-19

The grievor argued that he had not received comprehensive medical care in response to reporting adverse effects following COVID-19 vaccination, claiming that the health care he has received was insufficient. He disputed the filing of various forms and called for a Board of Inquiry (BOI) to be convened so that his injuries could be attributed to military service. 

The Initial Authority determined that because portions of the grievance concerned a decision, act or omission of the Chief of the Defence Staff, the grievance should be forwarded directly to the Final Authority.

The Committee noted that there was no dispute that the grievor experienced adverse effects after receiving a primary series of COVID-19 vaccination. While recognizing that the Committee lacked the expertise to comment on specific diagnoses or treatments prescribed, the Committee noted that the grievor's medical documentation had been reviewed by a Subject Matter Expert (SME) who found that appointments had been arranged for appropriate investigations of health concerns. The Committee also noted that the grievor's medical documentation showed that the grievor was referred to multiple independent specialist appointments in rapid succession, and found that there was strong evidence that the grievor had been provided with adequate and timely care. 

The Committee found that some documentation was simply for reporting purposes and did not have any effect on the grievor's treatment or possible later compensation, or had since been corrected after the grievance had been filed. However, the Committee noted that form DND 663, General Safety Hazardous Occurrence Report, should be completed to allow the General Safety Program to track and analyze such injuries.

The Committee found that the CF 98 form, Report of Injury, Disease or Illness, already established that the injury was due to an adverse reaction to vaccination, but that final determination of any compensatory benefits would reside with Veterans Affairs Canada. The Committee noted that further medical investigation was offered by the SME, but found that a BOI or other non-expert investigation was not appropriate for a purely medical matter.

Although the Committee found that the grievor had not been aggrieved, it did recommend to the Final Authority that the form DND 663 be completed for the grievor's injury.