Vaccine policy for 18-45 ‘arbitrary, irrational’: SC

NEW DELHI: The Union government’s coronavirus vaccination policy that has put the onus of giving doses to adults in the below-45 years age group entirely on states and private hospitals is “prima facie arbitrary and irrational”, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday, ordering the Union government to submit within two weeks “all relevant documents and file notings” that reflect how the strategy came about.

Picking holes in the national vaccination policy, the top court held that the liberalised policy introduced on May 1 “conflicts with the constitutional balance of responsibilities between the Centre and states”.

“…due to the importance of vaccinating individuals in the 18-44 age group, the policy of the central government for conducting free vaccination themselves for groups under the first 2 phases, and replacing it with paid vaccination by the State/UT Governments and private hospitals for the persons between 18-44 years, is, prima facie, arbitrary and irrational,” said the order by the bench headed by justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud.

The issue has also sparked a row between some states and the Union government. States such as Delhi and West Bengal have said that they have been left to fend for themselves to secure doses for the under-45 age group, alluding to Centre’s stand that doses can directly be bought from vaccine makers also based outside of India. Several state governments opened bids for purchase orders, but the response has been muted with most key vaccine makers saying they deal only with national governments. The bench, which also included justices L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat, asked the Union government to explain how ₹35,000 crore, earmarked for procuring vaccines in the Union Budget for 20212022, have been spent so far and why they could not be utilised for vaccinating persons in the 18-45 age group.

It called on the Centre to submit an affidavit within two weeks with details of percentage of people vaccinated (single dose and double dose) as against all eligible people in rural and urban areas; an outline for how and when the Centre seeks to vaccinate the remaining population; complete data on purchase history, orders placed and projected dates of supplies, as well as the steps being taken to ensure drug availability for mucormycosis.

The court further requisitioned copies of all relevant documents and file noting from the government, “reflecting its thinking and culminating in the vaccination policy”.