Supreme Court Advocates for COVID-19 Vaccine Compensation Policy

The Supreme Court of India urged the Centre to explore creating a policy to compensate individuals experiencing adverse effects, including deaths, from the COVID-19 vaccination. The Centre's appeal against a Kerala High Court's order was noted, highlighting the absence of such a compensation framework linked to the pandemic's vaccine-driven response.

The Supreme Court of India has directed the Centre to consider formulating a compensation policy for individuals who suffer severe effects or death related to the COVID-19 vaccination. This comes after the top court was briefed about the lack of any existing scheme to address such compensation claims.

A bench including Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, during a hearing, was informed by additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati that while the pandemic had been declared a disaster, adverse effects following immunisation (AEFI) are not currently covered under any compensation policy.

Highlighting the interconnected nature of vaccination and the pandemic response, the bench suggested that vaccine-related deaths should not be isolated from COVID-19 fatalities. Bhati emphasized that the current regulations under the Disaster Management Act do not address AEFI compensation, while the court has granted the government three weeks to reply to their suggestions.