HC notice on plea for priority vaccination for persons with disabilities

Petitioner seeks special drive in every district from May 1

April 23, 2021 08:35 pm | Updated 08:35 pm IST - Bengaluru

The High Court of Karnataka on Friday directed the State government to respond to a PIL seeking a special drive to administer COVID-19 vaccine to all persons with benchmark disabilities and their caregivers in every district from May 1.

A Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Suraj Govindaraj, passed the order on the petition by the Karnataka Rajya Vikalachethanara Rakshana Samiti, Bengaluru.

Pointing out that there is no mention of priority to be given for persons with disabilities in the third stage of vaccination beginning from May 1, the petitioner has said that Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 gives right of priority in attendance and treatment for persons with disabilities in the State’s healthcare facilities.

“Persons with disabilities and their caregivers require vaccination at a priority level as they may be unable to follow social distancing, wearing of masks, or avoid contact due to their disabilities,” it was pointed out in the petition filed through advocate Viswesh Sekhar.

The only way to ensure that persons with disabilities are saved from COVID-19 is to ensure that all persons with disabilities are vaccinated along with their caregivers based on their ID cards or certificates of disability through the jurisdictional District Disability Welfare Officer, the petitioner stated.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.