Published 20:06 IST, December 18th 2020
Americans can't take legal action against Pfizer, Moderna, FDA for adverse vaccine effects
US lawyers have flagged how the US law offers no one to blame if any individual witnesses adverse effects of the vaccine after inoculation.
As the US is on its way to becoming the first nation of authorising two COVID-19 vaccine candidates for emergency use, the citizens cannot take any legal action against Pfizer or Moderna’s developed vaccines against coronavirus on experiencing any side effects. As per a CNBC report, lawyers have flagged how the US law offers no one to blame if any individual witnesses adverse effects of the vaccine after inoculation. Pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Moderna are immune from any liability if anything goes wrong.
Why can’t they be sued?
The media outlet quoted a Dallas labour and employment attorney, Rogge Dunn saying that it is “very rare” for a blanket immunity law to be passed in the house and companies like Pfizer or Moderna “ typically aren’t offered much liability protection under the law.” Not just the companies, even the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which authorises the vaccines, can be held liable for allowing the emergency use.
Even though the US Congress has put together a fund to specifically help cover the lost wages and out-of-pocket medical expenses for impacted people with “covered countermeasure” such as a vaccine, it is still difficult to use and reportedly only rarely pays. As per the report, the attorneys have said that it has only compensated fewer than 6% of the claims filed in the last ten years.
Recently in February, the Health and Human Services Secretary of the outgoing Trump administration, Alex Azar invoked the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, a 2005 law that empowers HHS Secretary to give legal immunity to companies developing or distributing critical medicinal supplies unless there is “willful misconduct” by the firm. This protection reportedly lasts until 2024.
Therefore, for the next four years, the pharmaceutical companies in the US “cannot be sued for money damages in court” over the mishappenings or injuries related to the administration or use of medicines for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Roger Dunn reportedly thinks that the main reason for the unprecedented protection by the government is because of the expedited timeline to develop a vaccine amid the pandemic. The companies leading the race of developing COVID-19 vaccines ramped up their work of several years in just a few months.
Updated 20:06 IST, December 18th 2020