The Morrison government has given the suppliers of two COVID-19 vaccines indemnity against prosecution for rare side effects that experts say are “inevitable” when a vaccine is rolled out.
But the government will not set up a statutory compensation scheme, which the president of the Australian Medical Association, Omar Khorshid, said meant Australians who suffered “extremely rare” side effects from the vaccines would face a tough battle to seek compensation.
“With a brand new vaccine, it’s going to be really hard to tell what is a vaccine injury and what is a rare medical condition that someone would have had anyway,” Dr Khorshid said.
As part of its $1.7 billion deals to secure more than 84.8 million doses of the Oxford University and University of Queensland vaccines if successful, the federal government has indemnified the suppliers, meaning they cannot be held liable for adverse events caused by the vaccines.
