Legal protection to vaccine makers should be provided by the Government: Adar Poonawalla.
As pharmaceutical companies advance their COVID-19 vaccine trials, legal tussles regarding them have also arisen. The CEO of Serum Institute of India, Adar Poonawalla, said that legal protection against all lawsuits against vaccines is necessary for all vaccine makers, particularly in a pandemic.
The Carnegie India’s Global Technology Summit that will take place on Friday will have vaccine manufacturers propose this to the government. It will be part of a virtual panel dealing with the obstacles in developing a COVID-19 vaccine.
Poonawalla said that this act of the government absolving all lawsuits against vaccine makers was already a discussion topic between Covax and other countries. This is because, when pointless cases arise, there is apprehension about the vaccine and its effectiveness. The government, at this point, should step in to resolve the spread of such misinformation.
Law to offer legal protection to vaccine makers
He revealed that the United States has come up with the law that indemnifies vaccine makers and offers legal protection against lawsuits for extreme side effects and baseless claims that seek to spread fear and bankrupt the vaccine makers or sidetrack them from
their purpose by forcing them to fight such lawsuits as well as defend themselves to the media. Poonawalla emphasized that this was of major importance during the pandemic.He confirmed that the government could make it easier for vaccine manufacturers to propose the same at the panel.
In an incident that justifies the need for legal protection to vaccine makers, just the previous month, a 40-year-old man who participated in the Covishield vaccine trials of Chennai actually leveled against SII, claiming severe adverse effects involving cognitive functions’ impairment and a virtual neurological breakdown. He also filed a legal notice for trials to stop and compensate 5 crores from SII and others. SII rejected his charges.
Shooting down these charges, the company said that attempts to malign and spread misinformation were obvious and that they would seek compensation of 100 crore rupees along with their defense.
Author: Deepthi Prakash
