Plea filed in India’s top court seeking investigation into Covid vaccine Covishield's side effects

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court of India seeking the formation of an expert panel to look into the alleged side effects ofAstraZeneca'sCovishield vaccine and create a compensation mechanism for those who died or experienced severe disability after getting inoculated.

The plea has been submitted by Advocate VishalTiwari,followingAstraZeneca'sadmission in a UK court that its vaccine, co-developed with the University of Oxford, can cause rare side effects. The company admitted that the vaccine can cause serious injury, including TTS — Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome — which causes people to have blood clots and a low blood platelet count.

AstraZeneca'svaccinewas licensedto the Serum Institute of India (SII) for mass manufacturingandit was sold under the name‘Covishield’in India.

The plea

Tiwariinhispleasaid that there has been a sudden increase in the number of deaths in India due to heart attacks, which couldbe linkedto the vaccination drive.

"Now after the document filed in UK court by the developer of COVISHEILD we are compelled to think upon the risk and hazardous consequences of COVISHEILD vaccine which have been administered to the citizens in large numbers,"the plea reads.

The plea said that it was only after thegovernment’sassurances and approval that the vaccinewas administeredin India on sucha largelevel. Tiwari also cited theUK’sVaccine Damage Payment System to create a similar regime in India to address compensation claims. The plea asks the union government to take up the matter as soon as possible so that‘lives of people are not put at risk in future’.

The plea seeks three reliefsasmentioned below:

“(1) Issue directions to Constitute in the interest of health safety a Medical Expert Panel comprising of Medical Experts from All India Institute of Medical Science,DelhiHeaded by its Director and Supervised by the Retired Honorable Justice of Supreme Court of India to examine the COVISHEILD VACCINE Side Effects and its risk factors;

(2) Issue directions to the Union of India to Establish a Vaccine Damage Payment System for the Citizens who got severely disabled as a result of a vaccination Drive during Covid 19;

(3) Issue directions to the Union of India to Compensate the People who are severely disabled or died because of the side effects ofCorona vaccineadministered to them during Covid 19.”

(With inputs from agencies)