On Saturday, official Covid-19 figures stated that India reported 1,20,529 Daily New Cases in the 24 hours. Even though it is the “lowest in almost two months” according to the government data, it is still a significantly high number. Experts across the world have stated how universal vaccination is the biggest step to flatten the Covid-19 curve. According to government of India’s data the “cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has exceeded 22.78 Cr” by Saturday and doses were administered “through 32,00,677 sessions”.

However, the ‘vaccine inequality’ is on the rise as is seen by the constant flagging of shortages by many states, often led by the Delhi government which has now taken to issuing daily vaccine bulletins by senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and MLA Atishi. She stated on Friday, “No Covaxin available now for second doses of 45+ and 18-45” in Delhi’s government vaccination centres, adding that “Covishield doses are available for those above 45 years age category, but Coaxin doses will almost run out of stock from today.” According to the Delhi government, vaccines are “not available for youth in Delhi for 12 days, vaccination of youth is not being done in any government center. Only 5 lakh vaccines are not enough for Delhi in June, 50 lakh vaccines are needed in this month.”

However, in top private hospitals of the national capital region there is no shortage at all. Vaccines are reportedly available, at a premium price of course, and some hospitals are also trying up with non governmental organisations and venues to hold walk-in or drive through vaccination camps. Almost all of them require a pre registration on CoWin or Arogya Setu. That there is a gap in the system is all too glaring. 

Where should the poor go for vaccination?

The Supreme Court asked the Centre to clarify how it plans to mitigate the large digital divide in the country as vaccinations are available through online registration for people in the 18-44 age group. The bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Ravindra Bhat and Nageswara Rao also questioned the Centre on how it plans to manage the logistics and storage of vaccines when the Centre was not procuring them in the Phase III. The court cited various government reports to demonstrate the lack of access to the internet among the larger population, and how this will impinge their right to equality and right to health. The court also sought clarifications from the Centre on how it plans to manage the logistics of vaccines. 

According to a report in the Indian Express, “Nine corporate hospital groups cumulatively bought 60.57 lakh doses of the total 1.20 crore doses of vaccines procured by private hospitals in the first full month since the Central government revised its vaccine policy and opened it to the market.” Most of these hospital groups are located in big cities and have reportedly “cornered 50 per cent of the Covid-19 vaccine stock meant for the private sector in the month of May” reported IE adding that “purchases by private hospitals in May added up to 1.20 crore doses or 15.6 per cent.”

The top nine private corporate hospitals chains and the doses they got, as reported by IE are: Apollo Hospitals (nine hospitals of the group procured 16.1 lakh doses); Max Healthcare (six hospitals, 12.97 lakh doses); Reliance Foundation-run HN Hospital Trust (9.89 lakh doses); Medica Hospitals (6.26 lakh doses); Fortis Healthcare (eight hospitals bought 4.48 lakh doses); Godrej (3.35 lakh doses); Manipal Health (3.24 lakh doses); Narayana Hrudalaya (2.02 lakh doses) and Techno India Dama (2 lakh doses). Most charge around Rs 850-1000 for Covishield and Rs 1,250 for Covaxin per shot. 

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Centre’s paid vaccination policy for 18 to 44 years, prima facie arbitrary and irrational: SC
Odisha CM bats for centralised procurement of vaccines

The post Covid-19 vaccines: How did 9 pvt hospitals corner 50% doses? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In the suo motu matter titled In Re: Distribution of Essential Supplies and Services During Pandemic, the Supreme Court has asked the Centre, “The Union Budget for Financial Year 2021-2022 had earmarked Rs. 35,000 crores for procuring vaccines. In light of the Liberalized Vaccination Policy, the Central Government is directed to clarify how these funds have been spent so far and why they cannot be utilized for vaccinating persons aged 18-44 years.”

With different prices of the vaccine for the Centre and States/UTs, the Centre informed the court that this policy has been adopted to instill a competitive market which would drive the market towards affordability and attract offshore vaccine manufacturers. It had also clarified that all persons of all age groups will get free vaccination throughout the country since all State/UT Governments have announced free vaccination for persons aged 18-44 years, in addition to the Central Government vaccinating persons over 45 years for free.

The Court thus, questioned the justification given by the Centre in its affidavit that the pricing policy has been framed to enable competitive pricing to incentivise more private manufacturers. When there are only two manufacturers to negotiate with pre-fixed prices, the Court wondered how this justification was tenable.

The current Liberalized Vaccination Policy enables State/UT Governments and private hospitals to procure 50 percent of the monthly CDL (Central Drugs Laboratory) approved doses in the country at a pre-fixed price. The justification for this Policy has been adduced in a bid to spur competition which would attract more private manufacturers that could eventually drive down prices, opined the court.

“Prima facie, the only room for negotiation with the two vaccine manufacturers was on price and quantity, both of which have been pre-fixed by the Central Government. This casts serious doubts on UoI’s justification for enabling higher prices as a competitive measure”, read the judgment.

The court further pointed out that the Central Government justifying its lower prices on account of its ability to place large purchase orders for vaccines “raises the issue as to why this rationale is not being employed for acquiring 100% of the monthly CDL doses.”

The Central Government in its affidavit stated that the eventual beneficiary of the vaccine would not be affected by the Liberalized Vaccination Policy since every State/UT has promised to vaccinate its residents free of cost. But the Supreme Court was not convinced and recorded in the judgment, that the UoI should consider utilising its position as the “monopolistic buyer in the market” and pass down the benefit to all persons.

“Even if the States/UTs were to fund the higher-priced vaccines, a burden they were not discharging before the Liberalized Vaccination Policy was introduced and potentially may not have planned in advance for, these funds are expended at the behest of the public exchequer”, said the court.

The three-judge Bench reiterated that if the Central Government’s unique monopolistic buyer position is the only reason for it receiving vaccines at a much lower rate from manufacturers, “it is important for us to examine the rationality of the existing Liberalized Vaccination Policy against Article 14 of the Constitution, since it could place severe burdens, particularly on States/UTs suffering from financial distress.”

On the pricing issue of the two vaccines in India, the court has asked the Union Government to state the comparison between the prices of vaccines being made available in India, to their prices internationally. The court also wants to know the manner in which the pricing of vaccines has been arrived at, with the Central Government refusing to intervene statutorily. “The justification for intervening in pre-fixing procurement prices and quantities for States/UTs and private hospitals, but not imposing statutory price ceilings”, is another point that the court has sought clarification.

The Central Government’s fresh affidavit is to be filed within 2 weeks, and the matter will be taken up on June 30. The court has also directed the Centre to ensure that copies of all the relevant documents and file noting reflecting its thinking and culminating in the vaccination policy are annexed to the affidavit on the vaccination policy.

The judgment may be read here:

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The post Why can’t allocated budget of Rs.35,000 crores be used for vaccinating 18-44 year olds: SC asks Centre appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has written to fellow Chief Ministers from other states urging them to join him in advocating for centralised procurement of vaccines.

“After the Union Government announced the Phase 3 pf vaccine policy and allowed for above 18 years and opened procurement to State governments and private sector, there has been great demand for vaccination from the citizens. Many states have floated global tenders for vaccine procurement. However, it is quite clear that global vaccine manufacturers are looking forward to the Union Government for clearances and assurances,” writes Patnaik.

He further explains, “They are unwilling to get into supply contracts with the State governments. While the domestic vaccine manufacturers are having supply constraints and are not able to commit required supplies.”

Patnaik says that under these circumstances “the best option available is for the Government of India to centrally procure the vaccines and distribute it among the States, so that our citizens are vaccinated at the earliest.”

However, Patnaik also advocates for a decentralized execution of the vaccination program saying, “States should be allowed flexibility to determine their own mechanisms to ensure universal vaccination.” He gave the example of hilly areas where online registration is often not possible due to poor internet connectivity, which necessitates the intervention of the state government to ensure even the most socio-economically backward tribal communities are not left out of the vaccination drive.

The Odisha CM’s letter may be read here: 

It is noteworthy that the Centre had allowed States to float global tenders and make arrangements for vaccine procurement. However, many states have been struggling to organise vaccines this way, and economically backward states have suffered the worst.

Mizoram’s plea for free vaccines for economically constrained states

Just yesterday, Mizoram CM Zoramthanga had written to the PM asking for free vaccines to be provided to 11 special category states which face severe economic constraints. “The pandemic puts serious stress on the resources of the country and this has far more severe impacts on small states with small resources like Mizoram. On top of this, we are now required to buy the vaccines for 18-44 years age group which puts more stress on our meagre resources,” CM Zoramthanga wrote in his letter that he shared on his official Twitter account tagging the PM, the Home Minister, and Chief Ministers of other North Eastern states. Zoramthanga requested that the Government of India “buy the entire vaccine requirements and make equitable distributions to all states.”

Humble request for special category states like us to be provided with vaccines free of charge by the Govt of India; to save our stressed economic resources!@narendramodi @AmitShah @himantabiswa @Neiphiu_Rio @NBirenSingh @SangmaConrad @PSTamangGolay @BjpBiplab @PemaKhanduBJP pic.twitter.com/W4cGRokZ4e

— Zoramthanga (@ZoramthangaCM) June 1, 2021

Mamata Banerjee on vaccine allocation and procurement challenges

Previously, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also written to the Prime Minister asking him to prioritise vaccination for Central and State government employees saying, “They have been forced to face people, to mingle with the public for discharge of their duties. In the process, they are running the risk of being affected by Covid 19. It is important that they are vaccinated without delay and irrespective of age groups.” She had asked for at least 20 lakh doses to be sent to her state for the purpose.

In fact, Banerjee has been very vocal about price disparities in vaccines as this has posed a huge challenge for procurement by states. “Every Indian needs free vaccine, regardless of age, caste, creed, location. GoI must fix ONE price for Covid vaccine irrespective of who pays— Centre or the States,” she had tweeted.

One nation, one party, one leader shouts BJP all the time but to save lives they can’t have one price for vaccine.

Every Indian needs free vaccine, regardless of age, caste, creed, location. GoI must fix ONE price for Covid vaccine irrespective of who pays— Centre or the States.

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) April 22, 2021

It is noteworthy that Covid-19 cases had shot through the roof in West Bengal after the conduct of the mammoth eight-phase Bengal Assembly Elections, a decision widely perceived to be driven by BJP’s single-minded desire to come to power in the state.

That’s not all. A Supreme Court Bench of Justices Chandrachud, Ravindra Bhat and L Nageswara Rao that is hearing a suo motu petition on Covid-19, In Re Distribution of Essential Services and Supplies During Pandemic, posed some serious questions to the Centre on its vaccine policy. “We are not changing the policy. We are asking you to please wake up and smell the coffee and see what’s happening across the country,” Justice Chandrachud had reportedly remarked. Justice Bhat also intervened and reportedly asked Tushar Mehta, “The only thing we want to address is the dual pricing policy. You are asking the States to pick up and compete with each other.”

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“In the context of a global pandemic, where the response and strategy of the nation is completely driven by expert medical and scientific opinion, there is even little room for judicial interference. Any overzealous, though well-meaning judicial intervention may lead to unforeseen and unintended consequences, in absence of any expert advice or administrative experience, leaving the doctors, scientists, experts and executive very little room to find innovative solutions on the go,” read Centre’s affidavit to the Supreme Court on its vaccine policy.

The Supreme Court Bench of Justices Chandrachud, Ravindra Bhat and L Nageswara Rao that sat today to continue hearing the suo motu matter on Covid-19, In Re Distribution of Essential Services and Supplies During Pandemic, posed some serious questions to the Centre on its vaccine policy.

LiveLaw quoted the Bench saying, “We are not framing policy. There’s an order of 30th April that these are the problems. You will be flexible. You can’t just say that you’re the Centre and you know what’s right. We have a strong arm to come down on this.” This was in response to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s remarks that these are policy issues on which the Court has limited judicial review power.

“We are not changing the policy. We are asking you to please wake up and smell the coffee and see what’s happening across the country”, remarked Justice Chandrachud. Justice Bhat also intervened and reportedly asked Tushar Mehta, “The only thing we want to address is the dual pricing policy. You are asking the States to pick up and compete with each other.”

The Centre had argued that differential prices for Centre and States is the new Liberalised Pricing and Accelerated National Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy that would further ramp up the pace of Covid-19 vaccination. It defended this policy by submitting that differential pricing is based on the concept of creating an incentivised demand for the private vaccine manufacturers in order to instil a competitive market resulting in higher production of vaccines and market driven affordable prices for the same.

“This will also attract offshore vaccine manufacturers to enter the country. This will result in increased availability of vaccine”, claimed the Centre. Justice Chandrachud, as reported by LiveLaw, further questioned the Centre about how States have been left to fend for themselves. He reportedly asked, “We have some concerns. Now we have a spectacle, where different municipal corporations, different states are issuing global tenders. We want to know, is this the policy of the Government of India that every Municipal corporation, every state is left to their own (devices) to get vaccines? Look at the capacity of BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation), it might have a budget comparable with some of our States. Does the Government of India contemplate that for the procurement for foreign vaccines, there will be individual states or corporations submitting bids or are you going to be a nodal agency for the bids?”

Justice Ravindra Bhat, concerned about the same issue, raised questions about the rationale behind letting manufacturers decide the price of the vaccine. “Till date we have not seen the policy document which articulates this. We want to see the files. We want to know the rationale. To say that the centre will procure at a lesser price, and manufacturers are free to fix prices at their own whims…. we want to know the rationale. We want to know the rationale why the pricing of 50% vaccines is left to manufacturers.”

The Solicitor General attempted to provide answers to these questions and stated that the question of states or municipal corporations issuing tenders might be “academic” as companies such as Pfizer, Moderna etc., have a policy of dealing with only the Union government. However, Justice Chandrachud countered this by pointing out that the Mumbai Municipal Corporation has received bids for the Russian vaccine- Sputnik V.

Justice Chandrachud, during the hearing, also observed, “There is a vital issue. Article 1 of the Constitution says that India, that is Bharat is a Union of States. When the Constitution says that, then we follow the federal rule. Then the Government of India has to procure the vaccines and distribute them. Individual States cannot be left in a lurch”, reported LiveLaw.

The Bench also wondered about the difference between the age group above and below 45 with respect to vaccine pricing. The Centre is giving free vaccines only to the 45 above age group. 

The Bench told the Centre, “Our issue is what is the basis for Centre to say that for 45 above, we will provide vaccines free of charge, and for rest, it will be procured at a charge. Two concerns are: You have constantly told us that the situation is dynamic. In the second wave, it was the pre-45 population which also suffered a great deal. Why should the Centre only procure for 45 age groups and leave the ones below on their own? What is the rationale? Can we say that 50% of the population between 18 to 45 will be able to afford the vaccines? Not at all!”

Mandatory CoWin registration

Another issue pointed out by the 3 judge Bench was about mandatory registration on CoWin application that ignores the fact that a considerable portion of India’s population does not have access to smartphones or the internet.

Bar & Bench quoted Justice Chandrachud saying, “What about the digital divide. For rural areas you have said villagers can register on the CoWin app through NGOs. Our law clerks and secretaries have tried to register on the CoWin app so we know how it works.”

Tushar Mehta argued that a poor villager who does not have a smartphone can go to a common centre and register himself for the vaccine. To this, Justice Chandrachud said, “A poor worker from Jharkhand has to go all the way to a common centre? You can certainly have registration, but how will you answer the digital divide? How do you answer the question about migrant labourers who have to go from one State to another?”

Justice Bhat added, “This is a real fear amongst the people. I have gotten distress calls from people across the country, that they’re not getting slots. They’re all gone within seconds.”

The court has given two weeks’ time to the Centre to file an affidavit on these issues.

The order may be read here:

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The post Can’t say you’re the Centre and you know what’s right: SC questions Centre’s vaccine strategy appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to submit before it the quantity of oxygen required between May 17 to May 24. The court has also sought district-wise data on buffer stock of oxygen as was directed by the apex court.

This direction was issued after the bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Aravind Kumar were informed that the Centre had allocated 1,015 MT to the state but the supplies were about 850-950 MT in the past few days. The state government had requested 1,396 MT oxygen from the Centre based on the projection that Covid cases might reach up to 6 lakhs.

“Still the supply of oxygen does not meet the requirements of the state. The figures of May 17 and May 18 indicate that the state government has not procured the entire quota allotted. Though the order of the Supreme Court dated April 30 directs creating buffer stock in each district, still there is no compliance of the same,” the order states, as reported by LiveLaw.

The court had directed the Centre to increase allocation to 1,200MT on an ad hoc basis until the Centre deliberated upon its decision. When the Centre approached the Supreme Court against this, order, the court refused to intervene deeming it to be a judicious order.

Vaccines

The bench has also sought from the government steps taken to procure vaccine doses for providing second dose to the people. “We direct state ad central government to place on record material to show what steps are being taken to ensure that no beneficiary who has completed six weeks after taking the first dose of Covaxin is denied the second dose. Necessary material shall be placed on record by next Tuesday,” the order states.

The court was informed that as of May 18, more than 4.5 lakh persons who have taken first dose of Covaxin have completed 4 weeks and about 97,000 doses are available with the state. While the central government has stated that around 1.6 lakh doses will eb allocated to the state in the second fortnight of May, it has asked the state to procure 2.4 lakh doses via direct procurement.

Thus, the court sought to know what measures has the state government taking to procure these doses. The court pointed out that by the end of May an additional 4.5 lakh persons will have completed 4 weeks after first dose and thus there is serious issue of shortage of Covaxin as well.

Further, about 58 lakh persons will require second dose of Covishield in the near future, and the state had a stock of only 7.1 lakh doses. The court said that people should be made aware of availability of vaccine and no false hopes must be given.

The court also pointed to new guidelines issued in terms of time period between two doses of Covishield are to be followed in letter and spirit.

When a counsel raised the query on whether private hospitals can be restrained from giving out first doses when so many second doses were ending to be administered, the court responded, “When there is an acute shortage of second dose, the state government will have to come out with an appropriate policy which will be rational and fair. The response of the state on policy and question of issuing direction to private agencies, should be filed on next Tuesday.” The state has taken a stand, that except for frontline and health workers no one will get first dose, in the light of shortage of vaccines.

“Unless the state government generates precise data of requirement of second dose on everyday basis it may not be possible to effectively administer the second dose to all those who have taken the first dose. State government will have to respond on this on the next date,” the court added. This observation was made since the guidelines now states that those who got infected by Covid after taking their first dose should defer their second dose by 3 months, thus it is necessary to keep track of such data to ensure compliance of the guidelines.

(To be updated with order)

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The post K’taka HC seeks govt’s plan of procuring oxygen and vaccines appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Uttarakhand High Court has converted a letter written by a law student, about how Nepali citizens residing in the state have been unable to get the Covid vaccine,   into a letter petition. The bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma have taken cognisance of the letter written by one Medha Pandey, a law student from Delhi University.

“A letter has been received from Ms. Medha Pandey, Student of Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, wherein she has pointed out that, while the vaccination process has commenced for battling the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the Nepali citizens, who continue to stay in India, cannot be vaccinated as they have not been issued the Aadhar Card, which is required for registration for the purpose of inoculation,” the order reads.

The bench has appointed Adv. Aditya Pratap Singh as amicus Curiae in the case. CS Rawat, the learned Chief Standing Counsel appearing for the State sought 3 weeks’ time to file counter affidavit. The court further directed the amicus curiae to implead the Centre as necessary party in the petition within a week and directed the registry to issue notice to the Assistant Solicitor General of India for the Centre.

The matter will be heard after 3 weeks.

It is pertinent to note here that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) stated last week that no one shall be denied a vaccine, medicines, hospitalisation or treatment for want of an Aadhaar number.

The complete order may be read here

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The post Uttarakhand: Nepali citizens deprived of vaccination, HC takes cognisance appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Supreme Court Justice  DY Chandrachud, has asked, “Why can’t the Centre follow national immunisation program policy with respect to Covid vaccines?” The three-judge bench of Justices  DY Chandrachud, L Nageswara Rao and Ravindra Bhat have also raised questions regarding the procurement of the vaccines, and have asked why the central government cannot buy 100% of the requirement, during the landmark hearing of the Apex Court on Friday. The mass vaccination drive rolls out on May 1. However, many who have tried to register on Cowin, the designated portal, have reported delays, crashes, and the simple fact that they have not found any available slots.

However, Dr Harshvardhan, the Union Health Minister is “pleased to note” that the “world-class Co-WIN platform ensured smooth rollout of beneficiary registration for Phase 3 of world’s #LargestVaccineDrive”. He shared that “in just first 3 hours: 80L+ people registered, 1.45 cr SMS successfully delivered, 38.3 cr API hits recorded”.

Pleased to note our world-class Co-WIN platform ensured smooth rollout of beneficiary registration for Phase 3 of world’s #LargestVaccineDrive

In just first 3 hours:
?80L+ people registered
?1.45 cr SMS successfully delivered
?38.3 cr API hits recorded@PMOIndia @MoHFW_INDIA pic.twitter.com/ZpUehAFMm4

— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) April 28, 2021

But how many of the above will actually translate into vaccines administered on May 1, and onwards, is yet to be seen. Some states, including the Bharatiya Janata Party governed Madhya Pradesh have already announced that the vaccination will not begin from May 1. Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan has said that he knows that “production also has a limit” and that as the state will begin vaccinating all those above 18 once “production takes place and we get the vaccine”. He also said that the vaccinations will be free of cost in Madhya Pradesh.

इसलिए 1 मई से वैक्सीनेशन का यह कार्यक्रम मध्यप्रदेश में प्रारंभ नहीं किया जा सकेगा।

हम जानते हैं कि उत्पादन की भी एक सीमा है। जैसे-जैसे उत्पादन होगा और हमें वैक्सीन मिलेगी, वैसे-वैसे 18 साल से ऊपर के हमारे जो नौजवान हैं, उनको नि:शुल्क वैक्सीन लगाने का अभियान चलायेंगे।

— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) April 29, 2021

According to the CoWin portal, online registration and appointment is now open for people in the 18 to 44 age group, and walk-in registration and appointment facility is not available for the 18-44 age group. However the online appointment can be taken only if slots are made available by private vaccinations centers as well as the state government centres.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has also appealed that citizens do not queue up at vaccination centres and wait for the government announcement that the vaccinations have begun. According to Arvind Kejriwal Delhi has “not yet received the vaccines from the companies.” Kejriwal has said that around “three lakh COVISHIELD vaccines are to be delivered by tomorrow or the day after,” and then more doses will arrive later. He said, “We have not yet received the vaccine, and are in continuous touch with the companies and hope the vaccines will be delivered in a day or two. We’ve been assured of this.” The Delhi government has asked for 67 lakh doses each of COVISHIELD and COVAXIN to be delivered within three months. “We will vaccinate every citizen in Delhi within three months; I request everyone not to rush,” said Kejriwal.

However, not everyone has a smartphone or the technical knowledge on how to register online, and a large number of people who need the vaccine are likely to be left out. According to Indian Express, so far, there have been 14.80 crore registrations on Co-WIN, of which only 2.91 crore were made online; a bulk of them — 9.33 crore — walked in at centres and registered themselves before vaccination. As many as 2.55 crore registrations are of healthcare and frontline workers, who were prioritised for vaccination beginning January 16 and February 1, respectively. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope told the media that the state would require around 40 lakh vaccines a week, and at the moment the state’s vaccine stock is around 7 lakhs. 

The Union Government, meanwhile, has stated that it has “so far provided nearly 16.33 crore vaccine doses (16,33,85,030) to States/UTs Free of Cost” and over “1 crore COVID Vaccine doses (1,00,28,527) are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.” It has added that around “20 lakh (19,81,110) vaccine doses will be received in addition by the States/UTs within the next 3 days.

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The post How many Indian adults will manage to get the Covid-19 vaccine on May 1? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Supreme Court Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Ravindra Bhat and Nageswara Rao considered the suo motu matter pertaining to the Covid-19 second wave in the country today on April 27.

According to media reports, the Supreme Court has clarified that it has “no intention” to take up matters from the High Courts who are seized with similar cases. Livelaw reported that the Bench said, “The object of these proceedings is not to supplant the High Courts or to take over from High Courts what they are doing. High Courts are in a better position to monitor what is going on within their territorial boundaries…During national crisis, the Supreme Court cannot be a mute spectator. The role of the Supreme Court is complimentary in nature. The issues which travail state boundaries is what this court will look into and thus Article 32 jurisdiction has been assumed.”

The Bench reiterated that it sees no reason or justification to interdict the various state courts as they are best situated to make an assessment of ground realities in their own respective states and find solutions to problems faced by citizens. It also urged everyone to take the Supreme Court’s intervention as the correct thing to do as it is a national issue and might require coordination between states.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was present during the hearing representing the Union government reportedly said that the country should be proud of the fact that Prime Minister Modi is examining the issues at hand and all political parties are coordinating and working across party lines.

Bar & Bench quoted him stating, “We should all be proud that this issue is being looked into by the Prime Minister and all political parties are coordinating across party lines. Jurisdiction of the High Court or Supreme Court is not in question. We are only laying down steps taken on war footing.”  

Justice Bhat also asked the Centre if the para-military and defence forces can be pressed into service to tackle the pandemic. “We need to know about use in central resources of para military forces who have paramedics and army facilities and army doctors and railways, these are common facilities which can be made available for quarantine, vaccination or beds”, he said, according to B&B.

On April 22, the top court had directed the Central government to come up with a ‘national plan’ for dealing with the essential services and supplies during the pandemic.  

Vaccine pricing

According to B&B, the three judge Bench noted that different vaccine manufactures were quoting different prices for their vaccines at a time when the country is under a deadly crisis. It, therefore, orally urged the Central government to examine the necessity of invoking provisions under the Patent Act to regulate the prices if necessary.

The court also ordered the Centre to clarify the grounds on which pricing has been fixed while also asking the government for details on modalities put in place to manage vaccine shortage when vaccination is opened to up to all above 18 years of age from May 1 onwards.

Accordingly, based on a B&B report, the court issued the following directions:

1. The Central government should apprise the Court on the total availability of oxygen. The government should show the projected demand of oxygen now and in the future and the steps taken to ensure augmentation of the same;

2. Steps that are taken to ensure supply of drugs such as Remdesivir and others;

3. Whether Covishield and Covaxin is being made available, as on the date of vaccination. The Union shall also clarify the projected requirements of vaccine due to enhancement of coverage;

4. Modality to be put in place to ensure that shortage and deficit would be looked into. Centre is to also clarify the basis and rationale for pricing of vaccine;

5. Comprehensive panel of doctors should be available for citizens to spread awareness about the different steps to be taken during the pandemic.

Since Senior Counsel Harish Salve quit as the Amicus Curiae in this matter, the court has now appointed Senior Advocates Jaideep Gupta and Meenakshi Arora as the Amicus Curiae, according to media reports. During the hearing earlier, Harish Salve had said, “It is the most sensitive case the court will look into. I don’t want the case to be heard under a shadow that I was appointed because of my school friendship with the CJI. I did not know our bar was divided between advocates who appear for industries and against it. I don’t want aspersions to be cast.”

The matter will be taken up in the next two days.

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The post Cannot be a mute spectator during crisis: SC on Covid-19 suo motu matter appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Dubbing the Centre’s announcement for a “universal vaccine policy” as “hollow, without substance and a regrettable show of evasion of responsibility” Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 20, 2021.

“When the number of cases in the second wave of Covid is spiralling like anything, the Centre has chosen to tactically indulge in empty rhetoric and shy away from its responsibility for making available vaccines to the people,” said Banerjee in the letter.

She condemned the lack of clarity regarding the quality efficacy, stable flow of supply of required vaccines by manufacturers and the price at which vaccines are to be purchased by state governments. Experts like TISS professor R. Ramakumar have also raised concerns about unscrupulous mechanisms in the market, including market-based vaccine prices that will put common people under huge financial burden.

Another concern is that the vaccine supply will become erratic because vaccine manufacturers will not be prepared to increase production capacities as per national demand.

“I would like to mention once again that required vaccines are not presently available in the market and request that steps may immediately be taken to ensure availability of vaccines at the earliest,” said Banerjee.

Earlier, the Chief Minister wrote to Modi on February 24, requesting that state governments be allowed to purchase vaccines directly from state resources and give free vaccines to the people. However, Banerjee said the central government had failed to reply to the request.

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In his own words, it was meant to be a quick question, however Serum Institute of India (SII) Adar Poonawalla’s has ignited a massive debate over the Covid-19 vaccine which the Union Health Minister had recently said, will be available as early as next year. On Saturday, Poonawala asked a question the Minister should really address soon. 

Poonawala has asked “will the government of India have Rs 80,000 crores available, over the next one year?” That, he explained, is what it will cost the Union Health Ministry  to buy and distribute the vaccine to everyone in India. 

Quick question; will the government of India have 80,000 crores available, over the next one year? Because that’s what @MoHFW_INDIA needs, to buy and distribute the vaccine to everyone in India. This is the next concerning challenge we need to tackle. @PMOIndia

— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) September 26, 2020

The Serum Institute of India (SII) is collaborating with the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca to manufacture and distribute the Covid-19 vaccine in India. Perhaps after a deluge of replies, divided between the entitled who said they did not need a ‘free’ dose of the vaccine and could afford to pay for it, to those who questioned the government’s plan of action for mass vaccinations, Poonawala elaborated his intentions of asking the question. Or perhaps it was advice from his communications team that led him to further state that, “I ask this question, because we need to plan and guide, vaccine manufacturers both in India and overseas to service the needs of our country in terms of procurement and distribution.” 

According to a report by India Today, the clinical trials for Covishield, the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca in collaboration with SII have begun in Mumbai’s KEM and Nair hospitals. The report added that trials are likely to begin at a state-run hospital in Pune soon. The Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) had revoked its order suspending any new recruitment for phase-II and phase-III of the clinical trials of Covishield, earlier this month as was reported widely. 

The Serum Institute of India has been issued a notice after vaccine trials were paused. According to multiple news reports, the Drugs Regulator General of India questioned why the Serum Institute of India “even progressed with the trials and why it has not sent a detailed report about the patient in the United States.”

“As I’d mentioned earlier, we should not jump to conclusions until the trials are fully concluded. The recent chain of events are a clear example why we should not bias the process and should respect the process till the end. Good news, @UniofOxford,” Adar Poonawalla had tweeted after the revocation of DGCI’s order, stated news reports. According to India Today, after examination, the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca received a go-ahead from authorities in the UK to resume clinical trials for Covishield. The SII has, in fact, also partnered with Novavax for the manufacturing of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, NVXCoV2373, it added.

However, according to a Hindustan Times report, Adar Poonawalla had already warned that there won’t be enough vaccines against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) for everyone in the world till the end of 2024. 

The SSI, is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, and Poonawalla its CEO has estimated that the world will need around 15 billion doses of the Covid-19 shot if it is a two-dose vaccine. “It’s going to take four to five years until everyone gets the vaccine on this planet,” Poonawalla was quoted by the Financial Times. The Pune-based pharma firm has committed to producing one billion doses, of which it has pledged half to India.

Meanwhile, the Coronavirus cases in India have gone well past the 59 lakh-mark with the latest spike of over 85,362 new coronavirus cases on Friday. On Saturday, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said, “7,02,69,975 samples have been tested up to September 25 (Friday) for Covid-19. Of these, 13,41,535 samples were tested on Friday.” According to news reports India is now second in the world with the most number of coronavirus cases after the United States, which has over 70 lakh confirmed cases so far.

Among the states, Maharashtra continues to top this list. It has alone contributed more than 17,000 new cases followed by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh with more than 8,000 and 7,000 cases respectively.

Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan led health ministry continues to talk about the total number of tests having crossed 7 crore, and added that 10 States/UTs account for 75% of the new confirmed cases. Around 1,089 deaths have been registered in the past 24 hours. And according to the health ministry 10 States/UTs account for 83% of the deaths in the last 24 hours due to Covid-19. Maharashtra reported 416 deaths followed by Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh with 86 and 84 deaths, respectively.

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