New Delhi: The Centre has submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that there is no guideline passed by the Union Ministry that forces any individual to get vaccinated against covid-19 without their consent.
The affidavit submitted on January 13 by the Centre said, “It is submitted that the direction and guidelines released by Government of India and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare do not envisage any forcible vaccination without obtaining the consent of the concerned individual.”
It further added that “It is submitted that vaccination for COVID-19 is of larger public interest in view of the ongoing pandemic situation…. It is duly advised, advertised, and communicated through various print and social media platforms that all citizens should get vaccinated and systems and processes have been designed to facilitate the same."
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“However, no person can be forced to be vaccinated against their wishes,” it said. The affidavit came in relation to a petition filed by the Eluru Foundation that seeks to develop a framework to facilitate vaccination of disabled persons.
At the concern of exempting disabled individuals from producing vaccine certificates, the Centre told the apex court that there is no SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) issued which mandates the production of a vaccination certificate by any individual.
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There are few states who have mandated vaccine certificates to get services. Maharashtra has mandated that only fully vaccinated individuals can travel in local trains. Similarly, Kerala has refused to bear the treatment cost of covid-19 for unvaccinated individuals.
India has recently completed its one year of the vaccination drive, having administered 156 crore vaccine doses. Approximately 90 percent of eligible adult individuals have been given one dose, and nearly 60 percent have been fully vaccinated.