The Government is in a fix over the insistence of foreign vaccine manufacturers, US-based Pfizer and Moderna and J&J, on providing indemnification or protection from compensation claims in case of adverse events before they roll out the jabs in India, given that the Indian companies, Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India (SII), do not enjoy any such legal shield.
In other words, any company providing vaccines here will have to follow the rules of the land. The SII’s indemnification request was turned down by the Government last year itself.
The foreign vaccine makers want that “if a person experiences severe side-effects after being administered the Covid-19 jab, he/she cannot sue Pfizer or Moderna in the US as they have been granted immunity from liability. The person cannot slap a legal case against the US government for damages either,” experts explained, adding that the protection is for the next three years. To date, India has not provided any manufacturer of a Covid-19 vaccine indemnity against the costs of compensation for any severe side effects.
The experts, however, said that the Government needs to make up its mind quickly as dilly dallying in the matter would only further delay in achieving the vaccination targets. Amid acute shortage of vaccine availability, the Government on Thursday claimed that it is moving towards ensuring at least one crore vaccinations per day soon.
“ We made providing 43 lakh doses in a day possible. We should bring it up to 73 lakh in the next 3 weeks. We should make a system to achieve it,” said Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog. The Government is under intense pressure to provide the vaccine to the people and has been maintaining that as soon as Pfizer indicated vaccine availability, one can hope for its earliest possible import.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar too is in the US especially for the purpose of ensuring vaccine imports.
According to sources, Pfizer has told the Government that its jab has shown "high effectiveness" against the SARS-CoV-2 variant prevalent in India and on people of Indian ethnicity or nationality, while it is suitable for everyone aged 12 years or above and can be stored for a month at 2-8 degrees.