A Division Bench of the Madras High Court comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy in the suo motu case relate to Covid has suggested that people involved in delivering food, police personnel (not vaccinated), healthcare workers (not vaccinated), and even advocates and Judges who come into contact with litigants, should be considered for prioritized vaccination.
Following are the Court observations, with respect to these heads:
1. Downfall of Cases
The Court expressed that there was a continuous downfall in the rate of increasing cases in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The death caused by COVID increased yet the fatality rate in Tamil Nadu was at the lowest compared to other States.
2. Oxygen Supply & 'Yaas' Cyclone
The Court noticed that there was no clamoring for oxygen in either the State or the Union Territory. The Court was also cautious about the cyclone “Yaas” as it was anticipated to hit the east coast on which Learned Additional Solicitor-General assured the Court that the possible disruption due to Yaas has been taken into consideration by the Centre and alternative arrangements may be indicated.
Shortage of Beds
The Court was satisfied by the submission made to state that the beds were adequate and no shortage was there. However, there were some complaints by the intervenors that, particularly in private hospitals, the rich and the influential were able to book a bed or an oxygenated bed without the patient being in need thereof.
Availability of Vaccine
The Court was informed by the Additional Solicitor-General that as per the plan put in place by the Centre, 216 crore doses of vaccine should be available by the end of the year for every Indian to be fully vaccinated.
The Court further held that the future allocation of vaccines for Tamil Nadu appeared to be somewhat disappointing however there was hope that vaccines would be available in greater numbers upon the various manufacturing units augmenting their production facilities.
Awareness Campaign
The Court suggested to the Centre and State that a campaign should be done in rural areas to encourage them for vaccination, spread awareness about the virus, and curb the superstitious beliefs. The Court was of the view that Superstitions and archaic beliefs practiced in some communities stand in the way of scientific measures being implemented and there continues to be a resistance to accepting vaccination in certain sections of the society.
Drug of Mucormycosis
The Court made the following observations:
"Cases of mucormycosis are increasing day by day and there is a shortage of drugs pertaining to the same on which the Centre has indicated that measures have been put in place to manufacture the drugs immediately and in bulk upon reducing the quantum of production of other medicines for the moment."
Case Details
Case: Suo Motu W.P.No.10486 of 2021
Quorum: Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy
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