Delhi High Court Issues Notice To Centre On Cancer Patient's Plea Seeking Permission To Take Covaxin As Second Dose Instead Of Covishield

The Delhi High Court has issued notice on the petition filed by a cancer patient seeking permission to take Covaxin as the second dose for vaccination instead of Covishield, which was administered to him as the first dose. The plea seeks appropriate directions to the Centre in this regard.

Justice Rekha Palli sought response of the Centre through Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, asking the experts to consider the matter owing to the fact that being a cancer patient, the petitioner has special needs.

Moved by one Madhur Mittal through Advocate Sanjay S Chhabra, the petition states that in March this year, he had got his first dose of Covishield vaccine pursuant to which he got severe reaction and got hospitalised in Max Hospital, Saket, Delhi for 4 days.

Later, he was advised by the doctors to take Covaxin vaccine as the second dose, given prior complications of Covishield vaccine.

In view of this, the plea avers thus:

"Petitioner through respondent's website cowin.gov.in tried to book a slot for 2nd dose as Covaxin, in terms of the doctor's prescription but not able to book the same, as the said web-application only book slot for in the same category, that is for person who took 1st dose as covishield, can only slot for 2nd does for covishield only and the same is the situation for other covid-19 vaccines."

It adds:

"It is most respectfully submitted that as per the government advisory, respondent have advice the public at large to take the covid-19 vaccine both doses of same company, but there are also many cases, where there are mixing of covid-19 vaccine with other vaccine, and have given better results."

Additionally, the plea seeks direction to issue certificate of fully vaccinated to the petitioner.

Case Title: Madhur Mittal v. Union of India