COVID shot side effect: SC seeks reply on framing policy after Centre says no compensation scheme
New Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI): 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.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was informed by the Centre, represented by additional solicitor general Aiashwarya Bhati, that the pandemic was declared a disaster and the adverse effects following immunisation (AEFI) including the deaths were not covered under it and there was no policy for compensation in such cases.
The bench, however, said that COVID-19 deaths and vaccine-related deaths should not be viewed in isolation.
"Ultimately, the entire vaccination drive was a response to the pandemic. You cannot say they are not interlinked," it said.
The law officer said there was no policy under the Disaster Management Act to deal with the AEFI following the COVID-19 immunisation.
"The 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.
Bhati sought three weeks to respond to the court’s suggestion which was allowed by the bench, which posted the appeal of the Centre against a Kerala High Court order for hearing on March 18.
One Sayeeda K A, whose husband died allegedly due to the side effects of COVID vaccine, moved the Kerala High Court seeking compensation.
It was alleged that there was no specific policy to deal with the AEFI.
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 the COVID-19 immunisation to pay the compensation to the kith and kin of the deceased.
The top court took note of the appeal of the Centre and stayed the high court’s decision in 2023.
The Serum Institute of India, which manufactured one of the COVID-19 vaccines, has also filed a transfer petition.
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'Last rites' of INDIA bloc: BJP on Cong-DMK fallout in Tamil Nadu
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Wednesday took a swipe at the Congress for extending support to Vijay's TVK in forming the government in Tamil Nadu and breaking away from its long term ally DMK, saying the party has a history of "betraying" its allies.
The saffron party also attacked the opposition INDIA bloc, claiming the alliance is "falling apart like a pack of cards" and lacks any common ideology or vision.
The Tamil Nadu Congress has decided to support TVK leader Vijay in forming a secular government in the state, sources said.
The decision to support the TVK was taken at an urgent meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of Tamil Nadu Congress late on Tuesday night.
Reacting to the development, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed the INDIA alliance had effectively come to an end after the declaration of assembly election results on May 4.
"There is nobody whom the Congress has not deceived. Imagine what they will do to the Samajwadi Party if they have done this to the DMK," he wrote in a post on X.
Calling it the "last rites" of the INDIA bloc, Poonawalla, in a video post, said, "It has become a Bharat free of the DMK, TMC and the Left, and now Congress has dumped the DMK for the TVK."
The BJP spokesperson alleged that the opposition bloc was formed solely out of political compulsions and personal ambitions.
"The INDI alliance never had any mission or vision. It was only about ambition for position, corruption, commission and obsession against Modi ji that they came together. But now it is all falling apart like a pack of cards," he said.
Questioning the unity of the opposition parties, Poonawalla said the alliance was absent in several states during the election.
"Where was the INDI alliance in Bengal, in Kerala, in Gujarat, in Punjab, in Delhi, in Haryana, in Karnataka? There is no INDI alliance," he said.
The DMK on Wednesday described the Congress move to extend support to TVK as a "backstab" by its long-time national ally.
Speaking to PTI videos, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Anadurai said, "The Congress party has decided to ally with the TVK, pledging their support to the party. I think they have backstabbed... They have backstabbed the people of Tamil Nadu. They've backstabbed the mandate given by the people of Tamil Nadu."
He said that the decision came even before the electoral process had fully concluded.
"Even before the ink on the returning officer's signature on the victory certificate dried up, they've chosen to go ahead with an alliance," he said.
Vijay's TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, falling short of the halfway mark. He needs the support of 10 MLAs to form a government with a simple majority. The results were declared only on Monday.
The Congress has won five seats, while the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has bagged four seats. The CPI and CPI-M have two seats each. The outgoing ruling party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has won 59 seats while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has won 47 seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won only one seat, and so have the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and the Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam (AMMK), while the VCK has won two seats.
The Congress had fought the assembly polls in a pre-poll alliance with the DMK, while the BJP had a tie-up with the AIADMK.
