ATLANTA - A federal program designed to help victims suffering from life-altering reactions to vaccines is falling short on promises made when it started.

It's called the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, a $3.6 billion fund created to take care of victims with catastrophic reactions to vaccines.

But a Channel 2 Action News investigation found it also protects vaccine-makers from being subject to lawsuits.

And they don't pay for the program -- you do.

"I JUST HAD A BAD FEELING ABOUT IT"

Jessica Mura suffered a permanent reaction to a flu shot in 2006, a flu shot she never even wanted to get.

"I just had a bad feeling about it," she said. "I was healthy. I was 21. To me, I was on top of the world."

But the vaccine was required by her employer, a south Georgia ambulance company.

"That was my passion, helping people," said Mura. "EMTs don't make that much money, but I didn't care. I just loved what I did."

Within days of getting the shot, her co-workers noticed the symptoms.

She vividly remembers the very last time she walked. It was into an emergency room.

"It's hard to go from the person who cared for people, to be the one being cared for," said Mura.

She slipped into a coma for several months, endured 15 surgeries and had to learn to speak and eat again.

Now 31, she has a permanent brain injury and is confined to a wheelchair.

Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Jodie Fleischer asked Mura how sure she was that the flu shot caused her injuries.

"Two thousand percent," she said. "I was healthy, there was absolutely nothing wrong with me."

The federal government finally agreed, but not until seven years after she first got sick.

VACCINE-MAKERS IMMUNE FROM LAWSUITS

The program shields vaccine-makers from almost all litigation, to encourage them to remain in the risk-filled industry.