States like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra in the Supreme Court on Tuesday justified their hardened stand to make COVID-19 inoculation mandatory, even at the cost of denying people their rights, by saying that it was better to err on the side of caution to prevent serious or irreversible harm to the public when there was insufficient information about the virus.
“It is trite that when there is not enough information, it is better to err on the side of caution to prevent serious or irreversible harm,” Tamil Nadu told the court.
The State said the vaccine mandate, issued through a circular in November last, was backed by law and designed to nudge the public into getting vaccinated to stop the spread of the disease.
Compulsory vaccination was meant to preserve not only the safety of the individual but also serve a greater purpose of ensuring the safety of others, the States argued.
They were responding to a petition that challenged vaccine mandates, including those that made vaccination a precondition for accessing any benefits or services.
However, the Centre reiterated its stand in the top court that vaccination was only voluntary and not mandatory, though 100% vaccination was desirable.
The petition filed by Dr. Jacob Puliyel, a former member of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, argued that these mandates were violative of the rights of citizens and unconstitutional.
‘Policy matters’
Tamil Nadu, represented by Additional Advocate General Amit Anand Tiwari, contended before a Bench led by Justice L. Nageswara Rao that “these are policy matters and the court should exercise restraint”.
Bharat Biotech, which manufactures Covaxin, said the petition risked the danger of causing vaccine hesitancy and public hysteria amidst a global pandemic, which has overwhelmed global health infrastructure and caused massive casualties.
The company, represented by senior advocate Guru Krishnakumar and advocate Vipin Nair, said its vaccine had become a solace for not only India but other countries. It assured the court that there was strict adherence to protocol, and denied allegations of non-disclosure of information.
“Covaxin has undergone all the necessary clinical trials and the phase three efficacy trials revealed a 77.8% vaccine against symptomatic COVID-19 disease through evaluation of 130 confirmed cases, with 24 observed in the vaccine group versus 106 in the placebo group. The efficacy against severe symptomatic COVID-19 disease is shown to be 93.4%. The efficacy data demonstrates 63.6% protection against asymptomatic COVID-19,” Mr. Nair submitted.
Mr. Tiwari, in his turn, said the State was empowered under both the National Disaster Management Act of 2005 and the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act of 1939 to impose reasonable restrictions on unvaccinated people and prevent them from accessing streets, public places, markets, etc, in general public interest. The purpose of these restrictions was to protect the community and prevent the spread of the virus.
“Section 71 of the 1939 Act and the circular seeks to prevent unvaccinated persons from going to public places to prevent exposure of other persons to infection and spread of disease... The 1939 Act confers special powers to the officers of the government to make vaccination compulsory,” Mr. Tiwari submitted.
“These provisions have a reasonable basis with the objective of preventing serious disease and spread of COVID-19. They constitute an essential facet of precautionary approach in dealing with the unprecedented pandemic situation and prevent dangerous mutations in the virus,” he argued.
Cites credentials
Bharat Biotech cited its credentials, saying it had so far delivered more than four billion doses of various vaccines across 123 countries since its establishment in 1996 in Hyderabad. It had a portfolio of more than 16 vaccines, including polio, rotavirus, Zika, etc. The company followed international best practices for conducting research and clinical trials.
“In the midst of the global pandemic, the company was able to develop the wholly indigenous Whole-Viron Inactivated SARS-COV-2 virus vaccine (Covaxin). Inactivated vaccines have a safe track record of more than 300 million doses and is the most well-established in the world of vaccine technology,” Mr. Nair submitted.
