§ 10.313 Will OWCP pay for preventive treatment?

The FECA does not authorize payment for preventive measures such as vaccines and inoculations, and in general, preventive treatment may be a responsibility of the employing agency under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 7901 (see § 10.303). However, OWCP can authorize treatment for the following conditions, even though such treatment is designed, in part, to prevent further injury: (a) Complications of preventive measures which are provided or sponsored by the agency, such as an adverse reaction to prophylactic immunization. (b) Actual or probable exposure to a known contaminant due to an injury, thereby requiring disease-specific measures against infection. Examples include the provision of tetanus antitoxin or booster toxoid injections for puncture wounds; administration of rabies vaccine for a bite from a rabid or potentially rabid animal; or appropriate measures where exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has occurred. (c) Conversion of tuberculin reaction from negative to positive following exposure to tuberculosis in the performance of duty. In this situation, the appropriate therapy may be authorized. (d) Where injury to one eye has resulted in loss of vision, periodic examination of the uninjured eye to detect possible sympathetic involvement of the uninjured eye at an early stage.