Frame compensation policy for COVID vaccine side-effects: Supreme Court to government

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the Central government to frame a policy to compensate those who suffer from serious adverse effects from COVID-19 vaccine.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta added that the compensation must be provided on a no-fault basis.

"Union of India to frame a no-fault compensation policy for serious adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination. The existing mechanism for monitoring adverse events following immunisation shall continue and relevant data may be periodically placed in the public domain," the Court ordered.

The Court added that the introduction of such a compensation scheme should not be viewed as an admission of any fault on the government's part.

"The formulation of the no fault framework shall not be construed as admission of liability or fault on the part of the Union of India or any other authority," the Court said.

The Court was hearing a plea filed by the parents of two girls who had passed away owing to side effects of the COVID vaccine.

The plea sought a probe by an independent committee into the deaths, along with the release of the autopsy and probe reports in a time-bound manner. 

The plea also requested that the parents be monetarily compensated, and had sought directions to the government to come up with guidelines for early detection and treatment of persons suffering from adverse side effects of vaccines.

The Court today opined that there is no need for setting up a new expert body to examine the issue of COVID vaccine side effects.

It added that today's ruling would not prevent any other person adversely affected by the COVID vaccine from pursuing their individual remedies.

"No separate court appointed expert body is considered necessary in view of the existing mechanisms for scientific assessment of adverse events following immunisation. It is clarified that the judgement shall not preclude any person from pursuing remedy available in law," the Court said.

On September 6, 2022, the Kerala High Court had directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to formulate guidelines for identifying cases of deaths due to the after-effects of COVID-19 vaccination and for compensating the dependents of such victims.

In that case, the High Court was dealing with a woman (petitioner) whose husband was stated to have passed away due side effects of the COVID vaccine.

The decision of the High Court was challenged by the Central Government before the top court.

The Centre argued that only the disease of COVID-19 was declared a disaster and not deaths linked to the vaccines administered for COVID.

Hence, according to the Centre, there is no policy under the Disaster Management Act which grants compensation for deaths linked to COVID-19 vaccines.

It further contended that COVID-19 vaccines are governed by a medical protocol formulated in line with best global practices, which ensures the early detection and treatment of any Adverse Effect Following Immunisation (AEFI) during the administration of vaccines.

This plea by the Centre was ultimately tagged with another filed by the parents of the two girls who lost their lives to the side effects of the COVID vaccine and was heard together.