Maharashtra will begin the process of vaccinating bedridden or immobile people against COVID-19 from their homes on an experimental basis, the state government informed the Bombay High Court on Wednesday, 30 June.
The Uddhav Thackeray government said it would not wait for a nod from the central government over the matter.
“We will not refer the proposal to start home vaccination to the Centre for approval. We (state government) will take our own decision. We will explore this possibility (home vaccination) on a trial basis in Pune district,” Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, appearing for the state, told the division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni.
The matter will be taken up on Thursday again.
PTI quoted the bench as saying, “We will hear the matter tomorrow in chambers in the presence of the chairman of the State COVID-19 Task Force."
On Tuesday, the high court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocates Dhruti Kapadia and Kunal Tiwari, which sought to direct then the Centre and the state administrations to start doorstep vaccination programme for senior citizens specially-abled people and those who are bedridden, PTI reported.
Following which the government filed an affidavit, which stated it would have to first take approval from the Union government for the same.
However, the court questioned this in view of other states in the country like Jharkhand, Kerala and Bihar having already commenced their door-to-door vaccination drives.
(With inputs from PTI)
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