After daughters’ deaths, two parents’ fight leads to SC push for Covid jab no-fault compensation, Pg14

Key Highlights:

• The Supreme Court on March 10 directed the Centre to create a no-fault compensation policy for individuals experiencing severe adverse effects from COVID-19 vaccination.
• The ruling stems from a case initiated by two parents whose daughters died in 2021 after receiving the Covishield vaccine.
• The court also mandated the continuation of the existing adverse events monitoring mechanism and the public release of data.
• The order allows those injured by COVID-19 vaccines to claim compensation without proving negligence.

Detailed Insights:

• G Venugopalan's daughter, Karunya, developed acute side effects after receiving the Covishield vaccine in June 2021, leading to her death due to multisystem inflammatory syndrome.
• Rachana Gangu's daughter, Rithaika, also experienced severe adverse effects post-vaccination, including a critically low platelet count, and died of Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis (CVST).
• An autopsy determined Rithaika's cause of death as Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), highlighting a rare but serious potential side effect.
• The no-fault compensation policy aims to provide financial relief to affected families without requiring them to prove negligence, acknowledging the rare but severe risks associated with vaccination.
• The Supreme Court's directive builds upon a previous order from May 2, 2022, in Jacob Puliyel vs Union of India, emphasizing transparency and continued monitoring of adverse events following immunization (AEFI).

Key Concepts Involved:

• No-fault Compensation: A system where compensation is provided for damages or injury without the need to prove negligence or fault.
• Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI): Any untoward medical occurrence which follows immunization and which does not necessarily have a causal relationship with the usage of the vaccine.
• Vaccine-induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia (VITT): A rare condition characterized by blood clots and low platelet count following vaccination.