Munmun Kaur
Published On: January 03, 2022 at 12:34 IST
Recently, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Bombay High Court seeking directions to be issued to the concerned Authorities to formulate a policy for administering COVID booster vaccines.
The PIL was filed by two Advocates, Dhruti Kapadia and Kunal Tiwari. They submitted before the Court that a third wave of COVID-19 is likely to hit India soon and therefore, it becomes necessary that booster doses be administered to the citizens at the earliest. It was pointed out that due to the festive season, there will be more social gatherings and in that case, immediate booster doses will help the citizens. However, the Central government, State government, or the Brihanmumba Municipal Corporation (BMC) have no policy put in place with respect to the issue.
Apparently, the efficacy of two doses of the vaccine decreases after three months of being administered and increases the chances of being infected with a new variant of the virus. Therefore, a booster dose becomes necessary for ensuring the safety of citizens from the deadly virus.
The matter will be mentioned by Advocate Kapadia on January 3, 2022, for urgent listing in the coming week.
The Bombay High Court is also hearing a plea challenging the circulars issued by the Maharashtra government prohibiting persons who are not fully vaccinated, from traveling by local trains, visiting malls, and workspaces.
The Court has asked the State government to explain the rationale behind discriminating between persons fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and others in the context of accessing public places. To which the Chief Secretary of State Debashish Chakrabarty replied that allowing non-vaccinated persons to mix with vaccinated will endanger the lives of everyone.