SC seeks Centre's response on door-to-door COVID vaccination for differently-abled in two weeks

The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Centre's response on door-to-door COVID vaccinations for persons suffering with disability within two weeks.

Issuing notice to the Centre, a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and B V Nagarathna also sought the assistance of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta about steps taken so far to vaccinate the differently-abled and the government's proposals on the matter.

At the outset, advocate Pankaj Sinha, appearing for the NGO Evara Foundation, said there are two documents, including one by the Indian Medical Association that has said COVID-19 vaccination needs to be done door-to-door to ensure maximum coverage.

He said, Jharkhand and Kerala have successfully done so and it could therefore be carried out for the differently-abled across the country.

The bench noted that the plea seeks relief in the nature of door-to-door vaccinations to the extent feasible for the differently-abled, preference in scheduling of vaccinations and a dedicated helpline for the differently-abled apart from the CoWIN portal.

It said the petitioner has relied on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, which envisages the principle of reasonable accommodation. Sinha submitted that notice be also issued to all the states and union territories. The bench told Sinha that if it does so, it will take two months to get their response.

“We are at first issuing notice to Centre to see what their response is and if there is a need for issuing notice to states/UTs in future, we can always do so in the future,” the bench said.