The union government has said that the Covid vaccine is not mandatory for every individual citizen — in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court.
“The Covid-19 vaccination is for larger public interest in light of the ongoing pandemic situation. It is duly advertised, advised and communicated through various modes of media that all citizens should get vaccinated,” the affidavit, filed by the government in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) for door-to-door vaccination of disabled persons, stated.
“However, no person can be forced to get vaccinated against their wishes,” the reply read.
The PIL by Evara Foundation had raised concerns that persons with disabilities were at high risk.
The union government in its affidavit said that it had “not issued any Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that required persons with disabilities to carry Covid-19 vaccination certificates for any purpose”. However, it said that the ‘Near-to-Home Vaccine Centres (NHCVCs) and the Har Ghar Dastak Abhiyan policy’ had been created to ensure that “door-to-door vaccination of eligible beneficiaries, including persons with disabilities is carried out”.
The country recorded 2,58,089 new Covid cases in the last 24 h, out of which there has been 8,209 Omicron cases. The Omicron mutant, scientists observe, spreads 45 times faster than the Delta variant but is not as deadly as the latter. Covid patients infected by Omicron are recovering relatively faster, it has been noticed since the time this mutation of the China-origin virus was detected on South Africa.
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