This has caused the usual outrage on social media, with people saying the Union government is being disingenuous, or worse, outright lying. While sympathies should be with the families that lost their dear ones, it is important to unpack everything that the government has said in this affidavit.

First, vaccination was voluntary, and not mandatory. This is something that the government has maintained since Day 1. Of course, the Union and various state governments then made proof of vaccination mandatory for accessing various public services. As the pandemic began to peter out, this stand was challenged in courts, and the courts—rightly—ruled that state governments cannot force people to get vaccinated by demanding certificates for allowing access to public services.

Poll

Who will win the Punjab Elections?

BJP 32.79%

AAP 42.62%

INC 24.59%

Submit

View All In Poll

The second problem seems to be that the affidavit says people took vaccines despite knowing their ill effects. This is surely debatable. Did the government do enough to spread awareness about the side effects? Any sane person would say not.

Having said that, to make a case for official compensation for deaths caused by vaccines, the key is to prove that the victim died of an Adverse Event Following Immunisation, which is very, very difficult. At the end of the day, this is the only thing that the courts will consider when weighing in on the compensation conundrum.