KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here has allowed AstraZeneca Sdn Bhd’s application to strike out a civil suit filed by a group of Covid-19 vaccine recipients over adverse side effects they reportedly received from the vaccine.
This came after the company’s lawyer, Hemalatha Harasa Ramuly, submitted that 12 of the 42 plaintiffs did not actually take AstraZeneca’s vaccine.
In addition, Judicial Commissioner Suzana Muhammad Said allowed all the defendants to retrieve additional documents and particulars, such as the type of vaccines administered to the plaintiffs, as well as medical records and death certificates.
The 42 individuals, in November last year, filed the suit and named the government, the Health Ministry (MOH), former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, former health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, AstraZeneca, as well as Pfizer and Pharmaniaga Lifescience Sdn Bhd as defendants.
In the suit, the group claimed that the defendants should be held responsible for the adverse side effects of Covid-19 vaccines, including supposed severe complications which led to death or permanent disability.
The group also sought general and special damages from the defendants, as well as for any subsequent vaccine to undergo clinical trials, and results of their efficacy to be reported.
They are also calling for a temporary restriction on administering the Covid-19 vaccine to the public, until clinical studies on the vaccines’ efficacy are conducted with detailed reports presented.
In today’s proceedings, the government, MOH, Khairy and Dr Noor Hisham was represented by federal counsel M. Barath and senior federal counsel Nourul Ehaiez Nayan, whereas Pfizer was represented by lawyer Rachel Tex, while Pharmaniaga represented by lawyer Idza Hajar Ahmad Izham.
Meanwhile, all the plaintiffs were represented by lawyer Muhammad Shahrin Satheer.
The court has fixed January 15, 2024 for case management. – November 28, 2023