SII Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla has advocated for indemnity protection for vaccine manufacturers which would protect them from any lawsuits especially during the pandemic.
A vial of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which is produced in India and marketed as Covishield (Image: Reuters/Gleb Garanich)
Serum Institute of India (SII) has sought indemnity protection for its Covishield vaccine against liabilities, after reports that Pfizer and Moderna may get such legal protection, ANI said citing sources.
SII Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla has advocated for indemnity protection for vaccine manufacturers which would protect them from any lawsuits especially during the pandemic.
Media reports suggest that the Indian government may grant indemnity from liability to US pharma giants Pfizer and Moderna against legal proceedings linked to the use of their COVID-19 vaccines.
Cipla, which has collaborated with Moderna to bring a one-shot vaccine to India, has also sought indemnity in case of any adverse effects or complications caused by the Moderna vaccine and cited instances of the US Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP) and similar programmes in the UK, Canada, EU, Singapore and even the WHO-led Covax, that protect vaccine manufacturers/distributors from claims and underwrite the compensation burden.
As the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic ravages the country leading to an acute shortage in the supply of vaccines, several states have been facing vaccine shortages due to which, vaccine drives were halted for a few days in cities including Mumbai and Delhi.
The supply crunch situation and vaccine prices have come under the Supreme Court (SC) scanner.
An SC bench, comprising Justices DY Chandrachud, L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat, responding to a suo motu case, raised several questions on the Centre’s vaccine policy. They sought details from the Centre on the supply-demand situation, and proposed steps to boost supply and distribution.
[With Inputs from PTI]
