Covid-19: Bombay HC asks Maharashtra govt to frame guidelines for home vaccination

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The Bombay High Court on Friday said it was not satisfied with the Maharashtra government's progress on framing guidelines for door-to-door vaccination against Covid-19 for senior citizens and bed-ridden persons.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni said it expects the government to frame the guidelines by July 20. Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni told the court that information was sought from the public across the state via social media on bed-ridden persons who wish to get the jab at their residence.

"Till date, we have received 13,584 responses," he said. The court noted that the number was not big and said the government should give wide publicity to the proposal in newspapers. The court also noted that by now the government ought to have framed its guidelines or a policy on the issue. "We want appropriate guidelines.By now, you (state government) should have framed a policy. Otherwise, the vaccination drive gets delayed. We are not satisfied with the progress," the court said. The bench said it expects the government to come up with the guidelines by July 20.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by two advocates - Dhruti Kapadia and Kunal Tiwari - seeking a direction to the Union and the state governments to start door-to-door vaccination for senior citizens above the age of 75, specially abled persons and those who are bed-ridden.

The PIL contended that these persons were unable to go to the vaccination centres. The court will hear the petition further on July 20.

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