INTRODUCTION :
● Earlier this month, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said that his department is working towards a door-to-door vaccination programmed for bedridden people.
● Maharashtra government has expressed an inclination to begin door-to-door vaccination drives for the disabled, bedridden, and such citizens, and for formulating a separate protocol for the same.
● Maharashtra government recently informed the Bombay high court that it would soon commence home administration of coronavirus Covid-19 vaccine for people,who are immobile or bedridden on an experimental basis, with the introduction in Pune district first
● The Maharashtra government in the beginning told the Bombay High Court that it would start a home-bound program to administer anti-Covid vaccines to people who could not get out of bed early and would not wait for the approval of the central government for the same. On this, the court has asked the government why the approval of the Center is needed to start this program.
ENDEAVOURS IN GET GOING OF DOOR TO DOOR VACCINATION
BACKGROUND
The bench had observed that several lives could have been saved if the Centre had a door-to-door vaccination policy for the elderly and bedridden a few months ago.
The Centre has time and again not only refused to come up with a door-to-door immunization policy for the elderly, but it has also issued advisories to states against undertaking the same, asking them to implement their Near-to-Door jab policy instead. Moreover, it has declined BMC's proposal in the past and asked the Maharashtra Government to decide if it will undertake door-to-door vaccination by June 22.
Despite the Court's observations that the Central Government has not explicitly prohibited State governments from providing door-to-door vaccination, Maharashtra's Public Health Department's said would begin home vaccination on an experimental basis only after the State and Central Government approves.
However, during Wednesday's hearing the State Government clarified its stand.
● State's proposed Conditions For Vaccination include
● Mandatory medical certificate saying the patient is bed ridden
● Arrangements to be made for 10 beneficiaries to take vaccination along with the immobile patient to avoid wastage as there are 10 vaccines per vial.
● Mandatory written consent of all family members.
● Medical certificate from the patient's treating doctor saying the patient is not likely to suffer from Adverse Effects Following Immunization, and the doctor will take full responsibility for treatment if he does.
Earlier this month, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said that his department is working towards rolling out door-to-door vaccination across the state. At the time, the minister also emphasized that the beneficiary’s family and a family doctor have to give in writing that the former can be administered the Covid-19 vaccine dose and that it would be their responsibility should anything adverse happen.
However, Tope had stated that the door-to-door vaccination will not be applicable for all citizens.
[Dhruti Kapadia vs UOI]
The High court was hearing Public interest litigation PIL filed by two petitioners Dhruti Kapadia and Kunal Tiwari, asking the Center and the state government to provide door to door vaccination for senior citizens above 75 years of age, differently-abled, people who cannot get out of bed. The High court said Kerala, Jharkhand House-to-house vaccine program already implemented in Bihar.
However very recently State advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni told the division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni that the government will not “refer the proposal to the Centre” and that they will take their “own decision”. The state goes the government filed an affidavit in the high court, citing that there would be conditions imposed in the trial home vaccination such as taking written consent however, the court quashed the condition of asking for a certificate from a family doctor, terming the act to be ‘impractical.’ “How can a doctor take responsibility? Do not put such an impractical condition,” Chief Justice Datta was quoted
Hence forth the matter has been posted for further hearing on Thursday in presence of the chairman of the Maharashtra Covid-19 task force.
The advocate general said that the state administration would want to address the administration concerns in the Judge’s chambers worrying about the possibility of confusion with regards to after-effects Immunization being passed around because whatever he says in open court gets published in the newspaper. Since he didn’t want to create any panic situation in public.
The bench agreed but said that it hopes the State will not insist on one of its proposed conditions which require the immobile patient's treating doctor to sign a document, taking responsibility for the patient in case of After Effects Following Immunization.
"Today, when someone goes to the hospital for a critical operation, the hospital takes an undertaking from the patient. Does the doctor give a declaration that after the critical operation the patient will survive?" the bench observed.