Not liable for deaths by COVID-19 vaccine: Centre tells SC
The Centre has told the Supreme Court that the government cannot be held accountable for the harmful consequences of the COVID-19 vaccination, HT reported. In response to a petition, the Central Government filed an affidavit stating that seeking compensation in a civil court is the sole option in situations where death is proven to have been caused by the vaccination.
Why does this story matter?
The Centre's statement at Supreme Court will likely trigger a debate and put a question mark on the much-hyped nationwide COVID-19 immunization drive that commenced on January 16 last year. India reached the two billion mark in record time in July. The country also witnessed a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in May after recording a sharp decline from January's end to April's beginning.
Petition seeking an independent probe, expert intervention
The government affidavit came in response to a petition filed by the parents of two women who died after receiving COVID-19 vaccination last year. The petition demanded an independent investigation into the deaths and the constitution of an expert medical board to detect adverse effects following immunization (AEFI) early. Earlier, they had also sought compensation for the deaths, offering to donate it to charity.
How did Health Ministry respond?
"Holding the state liable to provide compensation under the narrow scope of strict liability for sporadic deaths occurring due to AEFIs from the use of vaccines may not be legally sustainable," the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in its response. While offering sincere condolences for the two deaths, it said the Centre found the COVID-19 vaccine-related death in just one case.
'Aggrieved families can approach civil courts for compensation'
"If a person suffers physical injury or death from AEFI, appropriate remedies in law are open to beneficiaries per their families, including approaching the civil courts for a claim of damages/compensation," said the ministry, adding that negligence claims will be decided on a case-to-case basis.
What happened in Supreme Court?
The petition, presented by prominent counsel Colin Gonsalves, stated that these fatalities would not have occurred if there had been informed consent to their after-effects. The Centre, on the other hand, said the idea of informed consent was inapplicable to the voluntary use of vaccinations. The authorities said that the data for AEFIs were quite few in comparison to the total provided dosages.
Official figures on AEFI
"Out of 219.86 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered in the country till November 19, 2022, there are 92,114 AEFIs reported," the affidavit said. Of this, 89,332 (0.0041%) were minor AEFIs, while only 2,782 (0.00013%) resulted in a serious or severe AEFI, including death.
Daughters of petitioners died last year
The daughter of the first petitioner, Rachna Gangu, had received her first dose of the Covishield vaccine on May 29 last year and died within a month on June 19. The daughter of another petitioner, Venugopalan Govindan, had received her first dose of Covishield on June 18, 2021, and died of a blood clot on July 10.
