Covid-19 vaccine: Moderna offered legal indemnity, but with riders

India has submitted a proposal to the US, granting legal indemnity as demanded by Massachusetts-based vaccine maker Moderna for shipping its Covid-19 vaccine, albeit with certain conditions, said people aware of the matter.

The proposal, which has been further sent to Moderna, will be taken up by its board of directors and once approved, will allow immediate import by India of about seven million doses of the company’s vaccine, they said.


“The Indian government has agreed to the indemnity clause in the best way we could. There were certain country-specific changes we wanted and we have gone ahead with such a proposal,” a senior government official told ET on condition of anonymity, without elaborating on the conditions outlined in the proposal.

The development comes shortly after Mansukh Mandaviya took over as the health minister. Last week, India’s drug controller had given the go-ahead to the import of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine through Mumbai-based Cipla. However, the US drug maker demanded legal indemnity, or protection from lawsuits, in the country before making its vaccine available.

“The Moderna vaccine is now under emergency use authorisation. The government is working actively with manufacturers to see how to import this vaccine,” said VK Paul, member, Niti Aayog, on Friday. “Those efforts are on. There is a process that has to be gone through. There are contractual understandings to be developed and this process is being actively pursued.”

Government officials said if Moderna agrees to the proposal, it may set a precedent for US vaccine makers Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson to introduce their Covid-19 vaccines in India.

The entire controversy arose when Pfizer declined to bring in its vaccines without the indemnity clause. According to the company, which has yet to apply for emergency use authorisation of its Covid-19 vaccine in India, the indemnity clause has been the part of the standard agreement for its vaccine supplies to other countries.

Meanwhile, the Moderna vaccine has reached neighbouring Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The vaccine is being provided through the Covax facility, which was created last year to ensure Covid vaccines were made available around the world, with richer countries subsidising poorer nations. The intent is to distribute enough vaccines to protect at least 20% of the population in 92 low- or medium-income countries.

US President Joe Biden had announced earlier this year that the US will globally share 80 million doses from its own vaccine supply.