No domestic vaccine maker has sought indemnity: Junior Health Minister

Bharti Pravin Pawar says Centre has set up team to deal with various issues related to procurement of Covid-19 vaccine from foreign firms

While the government continues to engage with foreign vaccine makers such as Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson on the matter of indemnity against adverse events post vaccination, the health ministry clarified that no Indian vaccine manufacturer has so far sought indemnity from the government.

In a Lok Sabha response, minister of state for health, Bharti Pravin Pawar, said, “No domestic manufacturer of Covid vaccine has demanded indemnity against adverse effects of vaccination.”

She also added that the government of India has constituted a team of officials on June 11 to deal with various issues related to procurement of Covid-19 vaccine from foreign manufacturers.

“This team is in continuous dialogue with Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson to discuss and address various issues including the issue of indemnity,” the minister said in her response.

It may be noted here that in January, CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII) Adar Poonawalla had said that legal indemnity was required to ensure that the vaccination drive could be completed smoothly. In an interview Poonawalla had said an indemnity clause during the period of the pandemic would ensure the vaccination drive did not halt if there was an injunction.

“All vaccine manufacturers have written to the health ministry. As the president of the Indian Vaccine Manufacturers Association, I have represented them... During the period of the pandemic, if there is an indemnity clause, it ensures the vaccination drive does not stop if let’s say there is an injunction. If there is an injunction and the court says no more vaccines are given to anyone pending further enquiry, many lives will be impacted (losing protection). It is not about the financial loss to the companies but the entire government programme also stops. They will have to invoke some very high-level constitutional powers to overrule such a situation. This has never been tested in our history,” Poonawalla had said then.

Thereafter, around June, SII had again approached the government seeking legal indemnity against adverse reactions following vaccination with Covishield, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, according to sources.