Govt not liable to pay compensation for deaths due to Covid vaccines: Centre tells SC

The central government Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it was not liable to compensate for the rare number of deaths that took place due to the side-effects of Covid vaccines.

New Delhi:The Centre told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the government cannot be held liable to pay compensation for the deaths that happened due to Covid-19 vaccines. It said that vaccines are manufactured by a third party and have undergone regulatory review and in such cases holding the government responsible for rare cases of deaths may not be legally sustainable.

"While the Government of India strongly encourages all eligible persons to undertake vaccination in public interest, there is no legal compulsion for the same," read the centre's affidavit in response to a plea by parents of two girls who died due to side effects of Covishield vaccine.

"All relevant information on COVID-19 vaccination is made freely available in the public domain by both vaccine manufacturer and MoHFW. Further, a vaccine beneficiary has the option to access more information about the vaccine and its possible adverse effects from the health workers at the vaccination site or their doctor before making an informed decision on their own.

As such, once a vaccine beneficiary who has access to all relevant information, voluntarily chooses to enter a vaccination centre and receive vaccination, the question of a lack of informed consent does not arise," read the affidavit.

"COVID-19 vaccines, including Covishield vaccine, have gone through a rigorous regulatory approval process with several layers of independent expert view. The data submitted by the vaccine manufacturer on the safety and efficacy of the said vaccine has been closely examined by various expert bodies and continues to be done on a rolling basis. All decisions on vaccine administration are made on the basis of relevant scientific evidence," the affidavit added.