<p>New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to respond on the possibility of framing a policy over the adverse effects, including deaths, of Covid-19 vaccination after being informed about the absence of any such scheme on compensation.</p><p>A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was informed by the Centre, represented by additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, that the pandemic was declared a disaster and the adverse effects following immunisation (AEFI) including deaths were not covered under it and there was no policy for compensation in such cases.</p>.Chinese virologists say new bat coronavirus could infect humans via same route as Covid-19.<p>The bench, however, said that Covid-19 deaths and vaccine-related deaths should not be viewed in isolation.</p><p>“Ultimately, the entire vaccination drive was a response to the pandemic. You cannot say they are not interlinked,” the bench told the ASG.</p><p>The law officer said there was no policy under the Disaster Management Act to deal with the AEFI following the Covid-19 immunisation.</p><p>“Covid-19 was declared a disaster, but the vaccination drive was conducted as per the medical protocol. The AEFI mechanism assesses whether a death is directly linked to the vaccine,” she said.</p><p>Bhati sought three weeks to respond to the court’s suggestion which was allowed by the bench.</p><p>The court fixed the appeal of the Centre against a Kerala High Court order for hearing on March 18.</p><p>One Sayeeda K A, whose husband died allegedly due to the side effects of Covid vaccine, had moved the Kerala High Court seeking compensation.</p><p>It was alleged that there was no specific policy to deal with the AEFI.</p><p>The high court had ordered the National Disaster Management Authority to frame a policy for identifying cases of death due to the after-effects of Covid-19 immunisation and to pay compensation to the kith and kin of the deceased.</p><p>The top court took note of the appeal of the Centre and stayed the high court’s decision of 2023.</p><p>The Serum Institute of India, which manufactured one of the Covid-19 vaccines, has also filed a transfer petition.</p>
<p>New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to respond on the possibility of framing a policy over the adverse effects, including deaths, of Covid-19 vaccination after being informed about the absence of any such scheme on compensation.</p><p>A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was informed by the Centre, represented by additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, that the pandemic was declared a disaster and the adverse effects following immunisation (AEFI) including deaths were not covered under it and there was no policy for compensation in such cases.</p>.Chinese virologists say new bat coronavirus could infect humans via same route as Covid-19.<p>The bench, however, said that Covid-19 deaths and vaccine-related deaths should not be viewed in isolation.</p><p>“Ultimately, the entire vaccination drive was a response to the pandemic. You cannot say they are not interlinked,” the bench told the ASG.</p><p>The law officer said there was no policy under the Disaster Management Act to deal with the AEFI following the Covid-19 immunisation.</p><p>“Covid-19 was declared a disaster, but the vaccination drive was conducted as per the medical protocol. The AEFI mechanism assesses whether a death is directly linked to the vaccine,” she said.</p><p>Bhati sought three weeks to respond to the court’s suggestion which was allowed by the bench.</p><p>The court fixed the appeal of the Centre against a Kerala High Court order for hearing on March 18.</p><p>One Sayeeda K A, whose husband died allegedly due to the side effects of Covid vaccine, had moved the Kerala High Court seeking compensation.</p><p>It was alleged that there was no specific policy to deal with the AEFI.</p><p>The high court had ordered the National Disaster Management Authority to frame a policy for identifying cases of death due to the after-effects of Covid-19 immunisation and to pay compensation to the kith and kin of the deceased.</p><p>The top court took note of the appeal of the Centre and stayed the high court’s decision of 2023.</p><p>The Serum Institute of India, which manufactured one of the Covid-19 vaccines, has also filed a transfer petition.</p>
