Following a letter by Karnataka Chief Secretary on June 7 seeking an opinion regarding the enforcement of two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for access to public areas, the State’s COVID-19 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) has recommended that there is no need to enforce the mandate in the current epidemiological situation of COVID-19 in Karnataka.
The TAC has instead recommended the issue of an advisory on completing the course of vaccination and having the certificate. This is based on the recent Supreme Court order that said restrictions on unvaccinated individuals imposed through various vaccine mandates by State Governments and Union Territories should be done away with.
SC order
The order dated May 2, 2022, had noted that emerging scientific opinion appears to indicate that the risk of transmission of the virus from unvaccinated individuals is almost on a par with that from vaccinated persons.
TAC chairman M.K. Sudarshan told The Hindu that the government had sought the TAC’s opinion following a clarification sought by an activist in the wake of the Supreme Court order.
On January 5, then Chief Secretary P. Ravi Kumar, had issued an order directing the Labour and Health Departments to ensure all employees working in various industries and factories, including the IT sector, should compulsorily be double dose vaccinated. Subsequently, double dose vaccination was made mandatory for access to public areas such as malls, shopping complexes and cinemas among others under the Disaster Management Act.
“After studying the Supreme Court order in detail, we have recommended that there is no need to enforce the vaccine mandate now,” the TAC chairman said.
“Till the infection rate remains low and any new development or research finding emerges which provides due justification to impose reasonable and proportionate restrictions on the rights of unvaccinated individuals, we suggest that all authorities in this country, including private organisations and educational institutions, review the relevant orders and instructions imposing restrictions on unvaccinated individuals in terms of access to public places, services and resources, if not already recalled,” stated the Supreme Court’s order.
Dr. Sudarshan said in the current scenario of COVID-19, the TAC instead has recommended that the government issue an advisory on completing the course of vaccination and having the certificate. “Besides, we have also advised that the State should intensify its Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities,” he said.
The TAC’s report dated June 12 said, “It is noted that in the recent months there is reduced/very little emphasis on IEC displays at strategic places like offices, industries, factories, IT industry, educational institutions, shops, malls, hotels, restaurants, pubs, clubs, buses, trains, cinemas, gyms, swimming pools and yoga centres.”
Suitable posters should be put up at strategic places to remind people about masking, vaccinations, hand sanitization, physical distancing, getting tested if symptomatic and other COVID-19 protocol, the TAC report stated. This is keeping in mind the circulation of current variants of Omicron that are relatively mild and not serious generally in otherwise healthy individuals, it added.
However, the advisory may be reviewed if there is a change in the clinical and epidemiological scenario of COVID-19 in the State, the report asserted.
“Lastly, as vaccination is known to reduce the severity of COVID-19 and thus reduces hospitalisation and minimises mortality, the COVID-19 vaccination programme should continue as planned, as the above Court order has no bearing on this,” the report added.
