Centre and Pfizer at odds on jab indemnity bond

India has not given any manufacturer of a Covid-19 vaccine legal protection against the costs of compensation for any severe side effects

Pfizer was not going to change its position on the indemnity issue: Sources: Shutterstock

Reuters   |   New Delhi   |   22.05.21: Pfizer and the Indian government are at loggerheads over a demand by the US drug maker for legal protection from any claims linked to the use of its Covid-19 vaccine in one of the world’s biggest markets, two sources told Reuters.

India has not given any manufacturer of a Covid-19 vaccine indemnity against the costs of compensation for any severe side effects, which is a condition Pfizer has obtained in many countries where its shots have already been widely rolled out, including Britain and the US.

“The whole problem with Pfizer is the indemnity bond. Why should we sign it?” an Indian government source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

“If something happens, a patient dies, we will not be able to question them (Pfizer). If somebody challenges in a court of law, the Centre will be responsible for everything, not the company,” the source added.

Pfizer and the Union health ministry did not reply to requests for comment on Friday.

The second source said Pfizer was not going to change its position on the indemnity issue.

Both sources declined to be named as they were not authorised to talk to the media.

India, which is facing a shortage of shots as coronavirus cases soar, pledged last month to fast-track approvals for overseas vaccine makers including Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson.

However, none of them has since sought permission from India’s drug regulator to sell its vaccine in the country.

The second source said the other issue being discussed between Pfizer and New Delhi was the Indian government’s insistence on a local trial for any vaccine approval.

Pfizer withdrew its application for emergency use authorisation for the vaccine developed with Germany’s BioNTech in February after India insisted on such a trial. But three other shots on sale in India, developed by AstraZeneca, Russia’s Sputnik V and Bharat Biotech in collaboration with state-run Indian Council of Medical Research, have completed the small-scale safety trials.