Finance
By: Shree1news, 02 JUN 2021
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to furnish detailed data on the purchase history till date of all Covid vaccines including Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik V. It also asked the Centre to place on record all relevant documents and file notings reflecting its thinking culminating within the vaccination policy.
A special bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, L N Rao and S Ravindra Bhat stated, “While filing its affidavit, UoI (Union of India) shall also ensure that copies of all the relevant documents and file notings reflecting its thinking and culminating within the vaccination policy are also annexed on the vaccination policy. Therefore, we direct the UoI to file its affidavit within 2 weeks,” the bench stated in its May 31 order, which was uploaded on Wednesday on its website.
Apart from asking the Centre to place the entire data on the purchase history of all Covid vaccines on record, the apex court ordered that the data should clarify the dates of all procurement orders placed by the Centre for all three vaccines, the quantity of vaccines ordered as on each date, and the projected date of supply.
It also asked the Centre to provide an outline for how and when the Centre seeks to vaccinate the remaining population.
It also asked the Centre to furnish data on the percentage of population that has been vaccinated (with one dose and both doses), as against eligible persons within the first three phases of the vaccination drive. “This shall include data pertaining to the percentage of rural population as well as the percentage of urban population so vaccinated,” the court stated.
The Supreme Court additionally sought steps being taken by the Central Government to ensure drug availability for mucormycosis.
On May 31, while hearing a suo motu matter on points regarding Covid-19 management, the top court had wondered if the mandatory registration requirement on the CoWIN portal for people to access vaccines is practical given the digital divide within the nation. It had asked the government to “wake up and smell the coffee” and be sure that its vaccine policy is flexible sufficient to accommodate modifications to deal with concerns.
The Centre, in reply, stated that it is not oblivious to ground realities and since this is a dynamic situation, no policy is cast in stone. It also said it hopes to vaccinate all eligible persons by the end of 2021.
Source:A-N
visit at: www.shree1news.com
