Can Delhi Govt. Administer Covaxin's 2nd Dose To All Eligible Persons In 18-44 Age Group Within 6 Weeks Of Their 1st Dose?: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (June 2) asked the Delhi Government as to whether it will be in a position to administer the Covaxin's second dose to all willing and eligible persons in 18 to 44 age group, in the NCT of Delhi, before the expiry of six weeks period from the date of their having received the first dose.The Bench of Justice Rekha Palli was hearing the plea filed by the persons who fall within the age group of 18 to 44 (less than 45) years and have already received first dose of the 'Covaxin' vaccine.The grievance raised by the petitioners was that though they are now already eligible for the second dose of the vaccine, i.e., after four weeks of having received the first dose of Covaxin, yet, the Delhi Government admittedly not administering them the second dose despite their requestsIssuing the notice, the Court asked the Delhi Government's counsel to obtain instructions as to whether it will be in a position to administer the second dose of Covaxin to all willing and eligible persons in the age group of 18 to 44 years, in the NCT of Delhi, before the expiry of six weeks period from the date of their having received the first dose. The matter has been listed for further hearing on June 4.In related news, the Madras High court had recently observed that the area of concern appeared to be the availability of vaccines and noting the Union's commitment to ensure that 216 crore doses of vaccine are available by the end of the year has been recorded, the Court had said "It is hoped that the target is met sooner, rather than later."Yesterday, the Supreme Court has made a prima facie observation that the Centre's vaccination policy, which does not provide free vaccination for those in the age group of 18 to 44 years, as "arbitrary and irrational"."Due to the changing nature of the pandemic, we are now faced with a situation where the18-44 age group also needs to be vaccinated, although priority may be retained between different age groups on a scientific basis. Hence, due to the importance of vaccinating individuals in the 18-44 age group, the policy of the Central Government for conducting free vaccination themselves for groups under the first 2 phases, and replacing it with paid vaccination by the State/UT Governments and private hospitals for the persons between 18-44 years is,prima facie, arbitrary and irrational", the Court observed.The Supreme Court has also directed the Union Government to produce all relevant documents and file-notings which reflected its thinking in the vaccination policy.A 3-judge bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud, L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat passed this direction in the suo moto case on COVID-issues (In Re Distribution of Essential Supplies and Services During Pandemic).During the hearing, the bench had raised several questions at the Centre's vaccination policy. On April 30, the bench had made a prima facie observation that the policy, which entails dual-pricing of vaccines and different procurement process for Centre and States, was "detrimental to the right to life and health" and had urged the Centre to revisit the same.A plea has been moved in the Delhi High Court seeking priority vaccination for people, including NRIs holding a valid visa of foreign countries who normally reside and work and the respective foreign country and also for those students who opt for foreign education with a valid offer letter from the Universities abroad.Click Here To Download OrderRead Order

Can Delhi Govt. Administer Covaxin's 2nd Dose To All Eligible Persons In 18-44 Age Group Within 6 Weeks Of Their 1st Dose?: Delhi High Court

Sparsh Upadhyay

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