Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Plea Over Covishield Side-Effect Concern

AstraZeneca has expressed sympathy for those who have lost loved ones, but reiterated its commitment to patient safety and adherence to "stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines..."

The Supreme Court will hear a petition on a rare side-effect associated with the COVID-19 vaccine developed jointly by British pharma giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and sold, in this country, as Covishield. 

A date for the hearing has not been set but Chief Justice DY Chandrachud acknowledged the issue, which includes demands for an expert panel to investigate the side-effect and for the government to provide compensation for families of those who may have died after taking the drug. An early hearing of the petition, though, has been ruled out.

Specifically, the petitioner has demanded the expert panel probe both the side-effect and other potential risks, and that this investigation be monitored by a retired Supreme Court judge. The petition claims instances where those who took the vaccine also became disabled, and wants directions to the government to provide compensation for them too.