Bombay High Court on Thursday said it was disheartened and disappointed with the Centre’s insensitivity and with the Mumbai civic body for not starting door-to-door Covid-19 vaccination for senior citizens and the specially abled, bed-ridden and wheelchair-bound people.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G.S. Kulkarni reiterated that the Centre needs to rethink its policy that says a door-to-door inoculation drive is not possible due to various reasons, including wastage of vaccines and probability of unmonitored adverse reactions to the jabs.
The high court directed the chairman of the National Expert Group for Vaccine Administration of Covid-19 (NEGVAC), set up by the Centre, to consider the issue of introducing the door-to-door drive, and posted the matter for further hearing on June 2.
“If the NEGVAC decides favourably to start the door-to-door drive, then the same shall be implemented without waiting for the court’s order,” the bench said.
“We are very much disheartened with the central government. Central government officials really disappointed us. Your officials are completely insensitive. Instead of making elderly people rush to the (vaccination) centres, you (government) must reach out to them,” the court said.
The bench noted that the Centre’s expert committee was working on surmises by saying door-to-door vaccination was not possible at present because of the probability that people might develop an adverse reaction to the vaccine.
“Is there any scientific data which show that because of a particular vaccine a person has developed complications? Where is the data that even a single person has died after taking the vaccine? The expert committee should opine one way or the other. There cannot be any ifs and buts,” the court said.
The court noted that in the UK, the same Covishield vaccine was being used and a door-to-door vaccination drive had been undertaken there.
The court also lashed out at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for filing an affidavit saying it would start door-to-door vaccination only after the Centre issues guidelines.
