The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the Central Government to file a status report on the petition regarding the COVID Vaccination of children below the age of 12 years. A division bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla said during the hearing on Monday that the report should be filed within three weeks. The next hearing of the matter will be on May 12.
This petition has been filed by minor Tia Gupta. He has demanded immediate vaccination of children between 12 and 17 years. Advocates Bihu Sharma and Abhinav Mukherjee have filed the petition on behalf of the petitioners. In this, the court has been urged to make suitable vaccine protocol for children living in Delhi and make it available at the earliest.
Senior advocate Kailash Vasudev, appearing for the minor petitioner, had earlier submitted that no road map has been given by the government for immunization of children of 12 years and below. The road map is only for 15-18 year olds only. The Delhi High Court had said that it can be dangerous to vaccinate children with corona without proper research.
Along with this, the court had objected to the demand for research on vaccines for children in a time bound manner. The petition has also sought a direction to the parents of children residing in Delhi to give priority in vaccination. The petitioner has also urged the court to prepare a comprehensive national plan for the protection of children from the ill effects of the pandemic.