Coronavirus: Home vaccination for bedridden people in Maharashtra to start on trial basis soon

The Maharashtra government will soon start trials for home vaccination against Covid-19 for residents who are bedridden, the state’s counsel told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday, reported PTI. The experiment will first start in Pune district.

Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, representing Maharashtra, told the division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni that the state would not wait for an approval from the Centre.

“We will not refer the proposal to start home vaccination to the Centre for approval,” Kumbhaoni said. “We will take our own decision. We will explore this possibility [home vaccination] on a trial basis in Pune district.”

The High Court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocates Dhruti Kapadia and Kunal Tiwari. The petitioners have sought directions to the Centre and the state government to introduce door-to-door vaccination for those above 75, for people with special needs, and those who are bedridden.

The government’s submission on the trials came after the High Court on Tuesday asked why it needed an approval from the central government to start home vaccination. It cited the examples of Kerala, Jharkhand and Bihar where door-to-door vaccination had already started.

The bench on Wednesday said the state government can go ahead with its home vaccination…

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