Government Should Indemnify Vaccine Makers From Lawsuits: Adar Poonawalla

[Pappu_Packitmaar]

New Delhi: 

The chief of the world's largest vaccine maker has asked the government to indemnify manufacturers against lawsuits. Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla has asked the government to protect vaccine-makers from "frivolous lawsuits" as the company prepares to roll out vaccines to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Poonawalla's comment comes weeks after a volunteer in Chennai alleged he suffered adverse effects from the Oxford vaccine trials. The Serum Institute of India (SII) defended a legal notice it had sent to the volunteer, saying it wanted to "safeguard the reputation of the company which is being unfairly maligned."

"We need to have the government indemnify manufacturers, especially vaccine manufacturers, against all lawsuits. In fact Covax and other countries have already started talking about that. What's happening is when frivolous claims come up, and you see in the media something blown out of proportion... To dispel that the government needs to step in, with messaging with influencers to spread the right message," Mr Poonawalla said at the Global Technology Summit 2020, organised by Carnegie India with The Print as its digital partner.

Protocols have been set up to manage adverse reactions - minor, severe or serious - to the coronavirus vaccine, the government said in a press briefing on Tuesday, as it admitted that there is always "the possibility of an adverse event" post-immunisation.

The COVID-19 vaccine, when it becomes available, will be offered first to healthcare workers, frontline workers and people above 50, followed by those younger than 50 with associated comorbidities, and finally to the remaining population based on disease epidemiology and vaccine availability.