The Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre on Monday in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking clinical trial data for Covid-19 vaccinations, which have been awarded emergency use authorisation (EUA) throughout the country.
Jacob Puliyel, a former member of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization, has filed a petition requesting segregated data from clinical trials of vaccines used in the country’s Covid-19 immunisation campaign.
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The PIL, which was filed by attorney Prashant Bhushan, also sought the Supreme Court to order the government to release post-vaccination data on adverse effects, including data on those who became infected with Covid after immunisation, those who required hospitalisation, and those who died. It further requested that the information be widely disseminated. Vaccine requirements that compelled people to get compulsorily vaccinated or lose their jobs were also challenged in the lawsuit.
“In other countries, this sort of surveillance has assisted in identifying the occurrence of blood clots and strokes in vaccination recipients,” the petition said, adding that several nations had halted giving the vaccine while they investigated the issue
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The Supreme Court made it plain that it did not want to send “a signal on the safety of vaccinations” because the country was already dealing with vaccine hesitancy and pondering vaccine safety, which may cause people to have questions about the vaccines’ safety. The court decided to look into the matter because it regarded it as a crucial point of personal liberty in seeking information versus the right to public health. After four weeks, the case will be heard.
