New Delhi: The Bombay high court told the Central government that it cannot allow the old to die because they cannot come to COVID-19 vaccination centres to get inoculated, and ordered the Union government to reconsider its decision not to allow a door-to-door vaccination programme.
The court was hearing a petition filed by lawyers Dhruti Kapadia and Kunal Tiwari on Thursday requesting for the orders to be issued to the Central government to roll out a door-to-door vaccination programme for the sake of the elderly, disabled persons and those who are bedridden. However, the Centre in its affidavit cited a number of reasons as to why it cannot go ahead with a door-to-door programme.
The counsel representing the Central government said that there is a possibility of contamination during transit if vaccines were to be transported for a door-to-door programme. It also noted that it would be logistically difficult to monitor those who get the jab for 30 minutes afterwards for any adverse reaction, which is normally done at vaccine centres. It also cited storage issue, among other logistical hurdles.
Unconvinced, the division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G.S. Kulkarni, according to NDTV, said, “There needs to be a solution. You can’t leave old people like this. It’s like choosing between the devil and the deep sea. You have ICU in an ambulance, you can definitely manage a refrigerator (for home vaccination).”
The court further said that it expected a better affidavit from the Centre and asked it to revisit its strategy. “This needs a relook by your experts…When I think of my mother, the last six years of her life she was bedridden. If she would have lived in Covid times, what would she have done?” the chief justice said. “You can’t leave the old to die.”
Further, it pointed out that elderly persons and persons with co-morbidities may face more risks if they are asked to step out to get vaccinated. Even at vaccination centres, unintentionally COVID-19 protocols may be compromised as huge crowds gather, it added and granted two weeks time to the Centre to relook the decision to not have a door-to-door vaccination policy.
The court cited the examples of Israel where a majority of the population has been vaccinated, and Los Angeles in the US where people are being vaccinated while sitting in their cars.
“They do not even have to go into the vaccine centre. We also need to advance ourselves,” Justice Kulkarni said, news agency PTI reported.
India has expanded the vaccination drive to include those above 18 from May 1. The registration for this category will open from April 28. The inoculation process and documents to be submitted to get the vaccine remains the same.