“State Govt Must Come Clean”: Karnataka HC Asks State To Inform Citizens About State’s CoVID Vaccine Shortage

The Division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka & Justice Aravind Kumar while hearing a batch of pleas related to management of CoVID in the state came down heavily upon the state govt’s inability to procure & administer second dose of CoVID 19 vaccine to the ones whose dose became due & overdue. 

“The state govt should not give false hope to the members of the public. You must come clean. You should publish a paper as per which you should say that people should be more cautious since the state has shortage of vaccines. The CoVID19 Third Wave will come in October.”, the Court observed. 

The Court after taking note of the submissions filed by the Govt & Advocate General Prabhuling K Navadgi’s submissions that the state had stopped administering first dose of CoWAXIN & was only administering CoviShield to health line workers remarked that, “The situation regarding vaccines in the state continues to be critical”.  

Directions were issued to the State Govt to apprise the bench about the steps that it was taking to procure CoviShield & CoWAXIN & further to devise a policy to ensure administration of 2nd dose.

“At this stage, ASG Bhati states that the entire quantity of 7,04,050 will be used by the state & this does not include doses available for private agencies. By the end of May, more than 4,50,000 beneficiaries who have taken 1st dose of CoWAXIN will complete 6 weeks. As regards CoWAXIN, there is a serious issue of shortage.”, the Court noted.

Upon Advocate Shridhar Prabhu’s submissions related to administration of first dose of CoVID vaccine to persons other than frontline & health workers, the Court posed a question to the state government, “Now that SG has made a stand that none except health & frontline workers would not get the first dose, the question is whether the private agencies be bound by the order?”

In this context, the Court further said, “When we're dealing with this aspect, we're not only dealing with art 21 but also art 14. For shortage of vaccine, the SG will have to take out a policy”.

It was also Court’s observation that based on the letter dated May 19, 2021 as per which vaccine to all those who recovered from CoVID would be deferred by three months, the Court that the State Government would have to exclude the beneficiaries to whom second dose was due & has been deferred. 

“Unless the State Government generates precise data of administration of 2nd dose everyday, it would not be possible for the SG to administer the 2nd dose.”, the Court said.

While noting on the supply of oxygen in the state, the Court said that the amount of oxygen did not seem sufficient in the state & that the state government had failed to procure the amount of oxygen allocated to it. Emphasis was also laid on the Supreme Court order directing the state to create a buffer stock & thereafter directions were issued to the State Govt to place on record district wise breakup on buffer stock of oxygen in this aspect.

On the aspect of availability of crematoriums & burial grounds in the state, the Court said that, “About availability of crematorium, Advocate General states that 240 electric crematorium is available in the city & 180 is capacity of burial grounds. The website for BBMP shows that slots are not available. This aspect needs to be clarified by the counsels for BBMP.”

The Court on the State Government’s decision to grant Rs 2,00,000 compensation to the families of 24 victims who died due to alleged shortage of oxygen in CoVID Hospital in Chamarajanagar, the while accepting the assurance Court said,

"We hope and trust the assurance is acted upon immediately. The issue as to whether there are 24 deaths or more is to be considered too.”

The pleas would now be heard on May 25 at 4:15 PM.