Allahabad High Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to shorten the process of procurement of Covid vaccines from international producers, suggesting that the state deal directly with foreign companies instead of inviting tenders.

“We are of the opinion that tender is a long-drawn process and if we run late in vaccinating a large portion of the population of the state, we may lose the real desired result of vaccination as the virus may mutate, which may neutralise the vaccines also,” the bench of Justices Siddharth Varma and Ajit Kumar said on Friday while hearing a PIL.

“Since a large number of people are getting infected every day and scientists are of the view that a third wave is almost at the doorstep of India, it is necessary that (the) government enters into direct dialogue with vaccine producers with the help of Indian diplomats in those countries. We must remember that in the context of the Covid-19 virus, unless every individual is protected, no one is safe,” the court added.

The bench was reacting to the submissions of Manish Goyal, the additional advocate-general of Uttar Pradesh, and S.V. Raju, additional solicitor-general of India, that the state government had floated global tenders to buy vaccines.

The court asked the state government to submit details of the measures taken by it to check the spread of the virus in rural and suburban areas and smaller cities.

The court also asked the state government to release within a week the oxygen, medicines and equipment such as oximeters seized from black-marketeers so that these can be used by patients.

It expressed dissatisfaction with K. Balaji, the district magistrate of Meerut, over his replies to questions on the allegation that patients had died at Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College hospital in Meerut for want of oxygen. The officer submitted that the deaths were not caused by dearth of oxygen.

“On a pointed query being made as to what was the exact stock (of oxygen) in the hospital on the fateful day, the district magistrate of Meerut could not give any satisfactory reply. He also could not reply as to what was the cause of the deaths if it were not for want of oxygen. The district magistrate of Meerut, in our considered view, has not conducted an inquiry in the letter and spirit of the mandate contained in our order. He should have obtained specific information, especially when a judicial notice had been taken of the news item and concrete material should have been placed before us as reply to our query,” the high court said.

The bench had taken note of video clips circulating on social media of patients purportedly dying because of shortage of oxygen at the medical college hospital in the western Uttar Pradesh district and asked the DM on May 4 to investigate the matter and report to it.