Covid-19 vaccine makers divided on indemnity ahead of vaccination drive

Govt unlikely to take a shot at Covid-19 vaccine liability, say legal experts

With India’s Covid vaccination drive scheduled to start on January 16 — with priority given to an estimated 30 million health care workers and frontline workers — vaccine makers are divided on the issue of indemnity in case of any serious adverse event (SAE). The government, too, is unlikely to indemnify or exempt vaccine makers from any liability arising out of SAEs due to inoculation. 

Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila, whose deoxyribonucleic acid plasmid technology-based vaccine ZyCoV-D is now in Phase 3 trials, said it was not looking at a legal indemnity angle. Pankaj Patel, chairman of Cadila Healthcare, said the vaccine would