Days after the Supreme Court asked the Centre to provide details of its policy framework and steps taken to prioritise Covid vaccination of persons with disability, the Modi Government on Friday announced ‘vaccination at home’ for the disabled, ‘in line with Covid-19 SOPs’.

“I am pleased to inform that an advisory has been issued to make arrangements for ‘vaccination at home’ for those who have disabilities or are differently challenged, in line with Covid SOPs,” NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr VK Paul said, as the panel warned that the second wave is not over yet.

In May this year, the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) had recommended the proposal by a Technical Expert Committee of the Union Ministry on the guidelines for Near to Home COVID Vaccination Centres (NHCVC) for elderly and differently-abled citizens.

The NHCVC for elderly and differently-abled citizens followed a community-based, flexible and people-centric approach, bringing the vaccination centres nearer to homes.

The Technical Expert Committee’s recommendations were aimed to ensure vaccination of senior citizens and differently-abled populations having limited mobility due to their physical condition. The recommendations were in response to the need to increase access by bringing vaccination services closer to the community while maintaining all necessary precautions and safety measures.

In the Supreme Court on September 21, petitioner Evara Foundation, an NGO, argued before a bench of justices DY Chandrachud and BV Nagarathna that the IMA has recommended door-to-door vaccination of persons with disability but only Jharkhand and Kerala have implemented this. The bench issued notice to the Centre and sought its reply affidavit in two weeks.

The Government also warned the people to avoid mass gatherings during festivities. Dr Balram Bhargava, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research said, mass gatherings should be avoided in areas identified as containment zones and in districts reporting more than 5% case positivity.

The ministry recommended that relaxations and restrictions can be imposed based on weekly case positivity. The states have been asked to allow gatherings with advance permissions and limited people (as per the state’s cap) to be allowed in districts with a positivity rate of 5% and below.