Submit vax plan for sub-45 yrs: HC

The Telangana High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to submit the blueprint of how the government was going to administer the Covid-19 vaccine to all those who are above the age of 18 and to submit the details of how many vaccines it had ordered from the manufacturers globally for state needs.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy, was told by the director of Telangana state public health G. Srinivasa Rao, that the state was the frontrunner in procuring the vaccines directly from manufacturers by calling global tenders. He also submitted that two vaccine manufacturers, Russia’s Sputnik and Oxford’s AstraZeneca positively responded to the state’s bidding.

The court was told that within a few days after June 4, the bids would be finalised and the government was making efforts to vaccinate the 1.84 crore population belonging to the age groups between 18 and 44.

The court then directed Srinivas Rao to submit an action plan and details of vaccines ordered by the Telangana state. “All details should be given

about the time period of the vaccination and how it was going to administer the vaccines in rural areas, particularly in tribal and scheduled areas.”

All details must be reported to the court by June 10. The government submitted to the court that 37 lakhs people above the age of 45 years were yet to get their first shot of the vaccine, whereas only 12.86 lakhs had taken two doses out of the 92 lakhs in Telangana, who are above the age of 45 years.