Centre’s vaccination policy ‘irrational’, says SC, questions different prices of Covishield, Covaxin

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the Centre’s policy to provide free vaccination for priority groups and replacing it with a paid process for those in the 18-45 age group was “prima facie arbitrary and irrational”.

A three-judge bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat made the observation in an order passed on the suo motu plea it was hearing on the handling of coronavirus pandemic in the country.

The court noted that unlike in the first and second phases of vaccination, the inoculation process for those in the 18-45 age group does not prioritise beneficiaries with co-morbidities and other diseases, persons with disabilities, or any other vulnerable groups.

“Due to the changing nature of the pandemic, we are now faced with a situation where the 18-44 age group also needs to be vaccinated, although priority may be retained between different age groups on a scientific basis,” the court said in its order.

Court asks for details of procurement

The court also asked the Centre to furnish complete data on the government’s purchase history of all Covid-19 vaccines till date. The order asked the government to submit an affidavit within two weeks detailing the dates of orders for vaccine placed by the government, quantity…

Read more