There is no legal compulsion to get vaccinated against COVID-19 - the Central government.

According to the Central government, there is no legal compulsion to get vaccinated against COVID-19, even though the government encourages vaccination in the public interest.

The government made this statement in response to a plea filed by the parents of two girls who died due to the side effects of the COVID vaccine.

On August 29, the Apex Court issued notice to the Central government on the plea.

The plea has sought an independent probe into the deaths, along with the probe reports and an autopsy. Further, the plea sought monetary compensation and requested the court to direct the government to come up with guidelines for the detection and treatment of persons suffering from adverse side effects of vaccines.

The Union government's affidavit said that Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFIs) are reported for every vaccine. Further, the vaccine is manufactured by third parties, thus, the liability on the Union government or State governments for aiding the vaccine is not legally tenable. The concept of lack of informed consent is not appropriate in a voluntary vaccination program.

Informed consent is a principle that says that patients have adequate information before they make decisions about any treatment or medicine.

Moreover, the Kerala HC recently directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to frame guidelines for identifying deaths caused due to the after-effects of Covid-19 vaccination.