Why Centre's nod needed for home vaccination for bedridden, HC asks Maha govt

The bench was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by two advocates - Dhruti Kapadia and Kunal Tiwari- seeking a direction to the Union government to start door-to-door vaccination for senior citizens above the age of 75, specially-abled persons and those who are bedridden. Earlier, the Union government had said door-to-door vaccination cannot be introduced currently due to various reasons, including vaccine wastage and the risk of adverse reaction to the vaccine.

The court had then asked the Maharashtra government if it was willing to start door-to-door vaccination in the state. In its affidavit, the State Family Welfare Board said the Maharashtra government has been following guidelines laid down by the Union government for vaccination and till date, it (state) has not made any request for door-to-door vaccination. As per the affidavit, door-to-door vaccination can be introduced on an experimental basis for bedridden persons.

It said even for these people, a certificate has to be issued by the person's doctor, saying the person is not likely to have any adverse reaction to the vaccine, and if there is any such reaction, then the doctor concerned shall be entirely responsible to manage and administer appropriate medical treatment to the person. The affidavit also said family members of the person concerned shall have to provide a written consent before the vaccine is administered to the person at home.

"In order to avoid vaccine wastage, at least 10 beneficiaries concerned shall be made mandatorily available in the closed proximity as one vial contains 10 doses of vaccine," it further said.

The affidavit said if this proposal is accepted by the state government, then the same shall be sent to the Centre for approval. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on Wednesday.