Who Gets The Vaccine?

While framing the rules, the government has to keep in mind that health is a fundamental human right, which has as its prerequisites social justice and equality. It should be accessible to all. Legal provisions are in place

- Dr KK Aggarwal

WHILE hearing a PIL, the Allahabad High Court on Nov ember 23, 2020, directed the central government to set up a meeting with the Indian Council of Me di cal Research (ICMR) through videoconference to verify whether the Covid-19 vaccine was being administered in other countries. A division bench of Justices Siddhartha Varma and Ajit Kumar noted: “…a general complaint amongst the members of the Bar is that though the vaccine is being administered in other countries but somehow it is not being administered in our country…”

The next day, an official of ICMR appeared before the High Court and provided information regarding the development of the vaccination programme in India and stated that the Covid-19 vaccine would be available in the near future.

Already, the prospect of a vaccine has spread across the globe after Pfizer, Moderna and now AstraZeneca have released encouraging results. In China, the government had given vaccine-maker Sinovac emergency approval for limited use in July. The company now plans worldwide distribution of the vaccine in early 2021—including in the United States. Another Chinese company Sino pharm’s trials showed that the vaccine produced antibodies in volunteers, some of whom experienced fever and other side effects. The phase three trials took place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in July and in Peru and Morocco the following month. The government gave its approval to inject hundreds of thousands of people with its two experimental vaccines.