Two Lawyers Move Bombay High Court Seeking Policy For Door To Door Covid Vaccination For Senior Citizens, Specially Abled and Medically Challenged Citizens

A plea has been filed before the Bombay High Court seeking directions to Central Government to set up a policy on urgent basis to provide Covid Vaccine to advanced age Senior Citizens, Specially Abled and Medically Challenged citizens etc by offering door to door vaccination services at the earliest.

Two lawyers from Maharashtra Dhruti Kapadia and Kunal Tiwari have sought direction to the authorities to provide a helpline number for advanced age senior citizen to book a appointment for home visit of Doctor to Covid Vaccine with medical facility.

The plea has further sought directions for arrangement of ambulances for pick up drop services for advanced age Senior Citizens, Specially Abled and Medically Challenged people who need such services to move out of their house to get vaccinated.

The plea has urged Court to waive off the compulsory adhaar card or pancard number entry details to book online appointment for vaccine.

The petition has stated that while the Respondents, including the Central and State government are doing the extra ordinary work by helping the citizen to get vaccinated, individuals who are completely bed ridden and are not in a position to move out to centre nearby to get vaccinated have not taken into consideration 

According to the petitioners, there are people who are medically sick but have been advised to take vaccine but yet cannot get vaccinated due to their incapacity to go to the centre to take such vaccine. 

While appreciating the tremendous work  done by the government in creating awareness about vaccine and providing best service to the citizens, the petitioners have argued that the government should have provided door to door facility to ensure such citizens who are of extreme advanced age above 75 years or physically challenged or bed ridden and are unable to out of their houses, got vaccinated conveniently.

The Petitioners, who are also social workers have stated that they have received  calls from the senior citizens regarding the following issues that they have been facing: 

• Senior citizens who completely are bed ridden are unable to reach out to the vaccine centre due age and health issues but wish to get vaccinated. 

• Senior citizen at advanced age of above 75 + age who have no strength to go Covid-19 vaccine centre. 

• Some senior citizens don't even know how to register online and are unable to book appointments independently. 

• Citizens who are medically sick and of too don't advanced age and don't have adhaar cards nor pan cards and are unable to register and book appointments without those mandatory documents 

• Long queues at the Covid-19 centre and long wait for 4 to 5 hours for the turn. 

According to the petitioners, if the respondents are unable to provide every citizen vaccine who are of advanced age and not in a positions to go to the centres for vaccine than they will be violating such people's right to life and good health under article 21 of the constitution .

The petitioners have suggested that with consultation of medical experts and medical technology use there can be a way out for such vaccines to be facilitated to such exceptional cases who are finding it impossible go to the centre for vaccination. 

They have also suggested that for door to door vaccine, a fix charges of around Rs. 500/- can be charged by the government for special service of vaccination and home visit charges to get it effectively done.