HC pulls up govt over 2nd dose of vaccines, asks state to come up with a road map

Bengaluru: The Karnataka high court on Tuesday pulled up the state and Central government on its plans to provide the second dose of vaccines to those above 45 years of age.

The HC bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Aravind Kumar subsequently ordered the state to come out with a road map for completing the vaccinations. “We hope and trust that if both the governments don’t take serious note of the desperate situation of vaccination and if a greater number of vaccines are not procured, the very object of vaccination will be frustrated. It may have a cascading effect,” the order said.

During the proceedings, the Karnataka government informed the court that it is stopping the first dose, to provide second doses to those above the age of 45 years. However, the court quoting numbers questioned the availability of the vaccines. “Only 9,00,000 doses available. 1.6 million people need a second dose immediately. Forget about the 18-44 age group. They can’t even give a second dose. For people above 45 years, how will state give the second dose,” the bench pointed out.

The Bench further added that the second dose of Covaxin should be taken within four weeks while asking about the implications of the delay in giving the second dose. “As per the target of 10.7million, 7.2 million have been given the first dose and over 1.1 million have been given the second dose. Hence, it is obvious that if the present scenario continues, the first dose cannot be given to front-line workers and 18-44 years…If the present scenario continues, the entire vaccination drive will be completely ineffective,” the bench said.

Talking about the availability of oxygen, the court also pointed out that despite the Centre telling the court that the state’s oxygen quota is being increased from 965 MT to 1200 MT, no document has been placed on record to prove this said allocation. “The court, therefore, proceeded to direct the state government to place on record its daily requirement of oxygen from May 5 till May 11 and quantum of oxygen actually procured. The state government should also place on record projected requirement of state for at least for 1 week from tomorrow (Wednesday),” the HC directed.

The court also made an observation about the incidents of the police excesses that were reported on the first day of the second lockdown. “Police excesses should be avoided, and people must co-operate with the government. If people are not cooperating, take them to the nearest police station,” the bench said.