Delhi HC seeks Centre's stand on administering booster shots against COVID-19

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the Centre's response on booster dose of Covid vaccine in the country.

A bench headed by Justice Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh observed that while the western countries are advocating for booster doses, Indian experts were of the view that there was no medical evidence to support it.

The bench also asked the Centre to file an affidavit on the aspects relating to the booster dose and the timeline within which the same is proposed to be rolled out.

The bench further noted that it does not want a second-wave-like situation on account of being conservative and added that the decision on administering booster doses of the Covid-19 vaccine should not be based on economics.

'We need to know from experts. It should not be based on economics. It is an expensive proposition (since vaccines are largely free). (But) We don't want to land up in a situation where we are overly conservative and we land up in a situation like we were in the second wave. We may lose the advantage,' the bench said.

While referring to the Aarogya Setu app, the bench said that let the Centre decide whether it would be rolled out through the app if necessary.

Stressing upon the efficacy of booster dose for those who have been fully vaccinated, the bench noted that the medical view indicates a fall of immunity against the disease after some time. This creates the need for a booster dose for people, particularly the elderly and those suffering from other diseases, it noted.

During the hearing, amicus curiae Rajshekhar Rao flagged various issues, including the functioning of the portal delhifightscorona.in under the Delhi government.

The bench asked the Delhi government to ensure that the system put in place continues to work efficiently, besides seeking a status report.