Indemnity to Covid Vaccines – UPSC Prelims

Foreign manufactures of COVID vaccines are demanding indemnity from liability as a condition for selling their vaccines to the country.

In simple terms, indemnity means security against a loss or other financial stress. This is commonly used in insurance contracts.

It protects the manufacturers from any potential civil-legal liability or immunity from being sued by people for any unforeseen complications arising from their COVID-19 vaccine.

The law on drugs in India does not have a provision for indemnity related to the grant of approval for any new drug or vaccine in the country.

Section 124 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 defines a contract of indemnity. It is defined as a contract by which one party promises to save the other from any loss caused to the latter.

If the government gives an indemnity to vaccine manufacturers, then the government, and not the vaccine maker, would be liable to compensate any citizen who claims to have side effects/death due to taking the vaccine.

In the event of a court ordering payment, the company will be in a position to recover the amount from the government.

Indemnity is essentially a contractual matter between the supplier and recipient.

For example, Pfizer is believed to have obtained indemnity from several countries including the United Kingdom. However, it has declined to discuss the issue in public.