When Will Kerala Get Its Share Of Vaccines? Kerala High Court Asks Centre

To avoid crowding, the Court exhorted citizens of the state "to understand that panic and unrestrained behaviour will worsen the pandemic situation ..."

"Needless to say state police chief is ordered to direct SHOs by circular over email that any request for deployment by vaccine centers will be honoured. Only empathetic persuasion to be used," Court additionally ordered.

Police personnel deployed outside vaccine centers were to refrain from use of force but use empathetic persuasion instead, the Court enjoined today.

With these directions, the Court called for the case to be posted on May 20, once the High Court reopens.

The plea by lawyer Mathew Nevin Thomas, filed through Advocate Santhosh Mathew and advocates of Ninan and Mathew Advocates, takes the stand that the policy run counter to the Universal Immunisation Plan and National Vaccine Strategy which raised a legitimate expectation that the vaccines would be procured by the Centre and distributed down the chain to the public free of cost and universally, in a gradually phased manner.

Arguing that the Policy imposed the burden of procuring vaccines on the state at short notice, the plea raises a specific concern that the states may even have to bypass their own procurement processes and safeguards in obtaining doses of the vaccine. Another concern raised is that multiple procurement channels and supply chains would unnecessarily duplicate and slow the process of vaccine distribution.

"Unlike private players who can distribute the vaccines at cost or on a for-profit basis, state governments will now need to supplement the supplies arriving from the 1st Respondent with their own procurement, and will be compelled to distribute what they procure for free at their own cost in order to ensure that people who cannot afford to buy the vaccines are also immunized. For a small State like Kerala, which had to face severe natural calamities by way of unprecedented floods and rainfalls with its depleted State exchequer, notice of a mere 10 days is not sufficient for this, which is evident from the fact that state governments have only just begun to place orders with the 7th and 8th Respondents…," it is stated.

The petitioner also takes issue to the differential pricing strategy followed in the vaccine rollout whereby the Centre, the States, private hospitals pay differing sums to procure the vaccine and vaccinations to those in the 18-45 age bracket are charged. It is asserted that the policy goes against the 'One Drug, One Price' system followed thus far.

Therefore, the petitioner seeks a quash on the policy and directions to the Centre to - 

• bring the COVID-19 vaccines under the ambit of the UIP and follow the National Vaccine Policy in their deployment;
• carry out procurement and distribution of all COVID-19 vaccines by bearing all costs in this regard, consistent with past practice; and
• roll out the COVID-19 vaccines free of cost across all age groups, including those between 18 and 45 years of age;
• bring all COVID-19 vaccines under the ambit of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 issued under the Essential Commodities Act;
• to allocate sufficient funds for procuring the vaccines for the State of Kerala so that vaccination can be done in a time-bound manner