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On Sunday, India completed one year of its vaccination campaign against the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
The Central Government has stated that there is no COVID-19 vaccination mandate and that vaccination is not mandatory. The Centre said that the Government of India had not issued any guidelines which make the production of a vaccination certificate mandatory for any purpose, as per LiveLaw.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has filed an affidavit declaring the following:
- In response to the NGO Evara Foundation’s plea for priority door-to-door vaccination of persons with disabilities against COVID-19
- We submit that the directions and guidelines released by the Government of India and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare do not include any forcible vaccination without the concerned individual’s consent.
- Because of the ongoing pandemic situation, it is further submitted that vaccination for COVID-19 is of greater public interest.
- Citizens are advised, advertised and informed through various print and social media platforms to get vaccinated, and systems and processes have been designed to facilitate this.
The Union of India filed an affidavit under Supreme Court directions on December 3, 2021.
The affidavit had given the petitioners the liberty to formulate concrete proposals on how to strengthen the existing framework for protecting disabled citizens, ensuring proper access to Covid-19 vaccinations and asking the Union Government to consider these suggestions.
A total of 23678 doses have been administered to people with disabilities
At the time of vaccination, they voluntarily chose to be identified by using their Unique Disability ID Card/Disability Certificate for registration, as informed to the Court by the Union of India.
In response to the petitioner’s submissions regarding providing an exemption from producing vaccination certificates for persons with disabilities, the Government stated it had not issued any SOPs that required individuals to carry vaccination certificates for any purpose.
Regarding the suggestions about Care providers being treated as essential workers, it has been reported that the Government of India has advised all States and UTs to vaccinate bedridden or disabled beneficiaries along with their caregivers at their place of residence using mobile vaccination teams in its letter dated 22.09.2021.
Co-WIN app and portal will be made fully accessible, as suggested by the Government of India. It is already implementing features in the Co-WIN portal to make it more accessible for persons with disabilities.
Health Ministry data shows that India’s Covid curve showed marginal improvement today with 2,38,018 new cases reported in the past 24 hours — 7 per cent lower than Monday’s reported 2,58 lakh daily cases. 310 people have died from Covid in the last 24 hours, bringing the total death toll in the country to 486,761.
The Health Ministry reports that over 92 per cent of the adult population has received at least one dose, and over 68 per cent have been fully vaccinated. So far, 156.76 crore doses of vaccine have been administered successfully.
Published By – Ranjit Gohite
Edited By – Subbuthai Padma
