The Delhi High Court, on Tuesday, issued notices to the Centre and State governments on a plea by an 84-year-old woman seeking directions for a policy on home vaccination for the elderly and bedridden patients and also a helpline number to register for the Covid-19 vaccine.

A division bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh posted the matter for further hearing on September 16 while asking the Union and State governments to file their reply.

Vulnerable to Covid

The petitioner argued that senior citizens and those who are bedridden are not physically able to access vaccination centres besides being vulnerable to Covid-19 infection. The petitioner argued that the chance of exposure to Covid-19 infection is higher at the vaccination centres, and it will be life-threatening at her age.

The public interest petition further stated that many senior and bedridden people do not have the facility of personal transport or family support to facilitate their visit to the vaccination centres. It was, the petition said, difficult for them to register on the CoWIN application, too.

“Many countries such as Singapore and Australia already have systems in place to vaccinate the elderly and bedridden citizens at their homes by sending a team comprising a doctor and a nurse to administer the vaccine. The respondents must introduce a helpline number for registration for Covid-19 vaccine and a policy on an urgent basis for door-to-door vaccination for super senior and bedridden citizens in Delhi,” said the petitioners.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW