Court rules against parents in drug vaccine case

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court says a federal law bars lawsuits against drug makers for the serious side effects from childhood vaccines.

By a 6-2 vote Tuesday, the court ruled against the parents of a child who sued the drug maker Wyeth in Pennsylvania state court for the health problems they say their daughter, now 19, suffered from a vaccine she received in infancy.

Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the court, said Congress set up a special vaccine court to handle such claims as a way to provide compensation to injured children without driving drug manufacturers from the vaccine market.

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.