Furnish complete data on Covid vaccine purchase history: Supreme Court to Centre

The apex court also asked the Centre to place on record all relevant documents and file notings reflecting its thinking culminating in the vaccination policy.

The students need to carry visa forms or verified confirmation letters from concerned foreign universities, along with personal identity documents, to skip registering for an online slot on CoWin. (Express/Representational)

The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to furnish detailed data on the purchase history till date of all Covid vaccines including Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik V. It also asked the Centre to place on record all relevant documents and file notings reflecting its thinking culminating in the vaccination policy.

A special bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, L N Rao and S Ravindra Bhat said, “While filing its affidavit, UoI (Union of India) shall also ensure that copies of all the relevant documents and file notings reflecting its thinking and culminating in the vaccination policy are also annexed on the vaccination policy. Hence, we direct the UoI to file its affidavit within 2 weeks,” the bench said in its May 31 order, which was uploaded on Wednesday on its website.

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Apart from asking the Centre to place the entire data on the purchase history of all Covid vaccines on record, the apex court ordered that the data should clarify the dates of all procurement orders placed by the Centre for all three vaccines, the quantity of vaccines ordered as on each date, and the projected date of supply.

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It also asked the Centre to provide an outline for how and when the Centre seeks to vaccinate the remaining population.

It also asked the Centre to furnish data on the percentage of population that has been vaccinated (with one dose and both doses), as against eligible persons in the first three phases of the vaccination drive. “This shall include data pertaining to the percentage of rural population as well as the percentage of urban population so vaccinated,” the court stated.

Also Read | SC tells Govt: Wake up and smell the coffee, let vaccine policy be flexible

The Supreme Court also sought steps being taken by the Central Government to ensure drug availability for mucormycosis.

On May 31, while hearing a suo motu matter on issues relating to Covid-19 management, the top court had wondered if the mandatory registration requirement on the CoWIN portal for people to access vaccines is practical given the digital divide in the country. It had asked the government to “wake up and smell the coffee” and ensure that its vaccine policy is flexible enough to accommodate changes to address concerns.

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The Centre, in reply, said that it is not oblivious to ground realities and since this is a dynamic situation, no policy is cast in stone. It also said it hopes to vaccinate all eligible persons by the end of 2021.

(With inputs from PTI)

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