Madras High Court directs State to prioritise COVID-19 vaccination of Persons with Disabilities, ensure vaccination centres are accessible

The Madras High Court on Monday directed the Tamil Nadu government to take steps for prioritising COVID-19 vaccination of persons with disabilities, irrespective of whether or not they have attained the age of 45 years (Meenakshi Balasubramanian v Union of India and anr). .To this end, the Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy has ordered the State to take a reasoned decision with three days on the minimum age limit of persons with disabilities who would be eligible for vaccination, after consultation with the Central government, if necessary.."The primary consideration in determining the minimum age would be whether the various vaccines have an adverse impact on infants, children or persons who have not attained adulthood. The manufacturers may also be consulted in such regard as to the adverse effect of the relevant vaccine on persons up to or below a particular age," the Court added. .The Court took note of certain documents submitted by the Central government which indicated that certain categories of persons with disabilities are already being viewed as persons who are at greater risk amid the COVID-19 pandemic. .These included persons with intellectual disabilities, muscular dystrophy, acid attack victims whose respiratory system has been affected, persons with disabilities with high support needs, those persons with multiple disabilities etc. The Bench has now directed the State to take steps to prioritise the vaccination of such persons.."... the State is directed to give priority to such persons suffering from disabilities as indicated in the relevant Annexure (submitted by the Centre), irrespective of whether such person has attained the age of 45 years, but subject to a previous reasoned basis being arrived at as to what would be the minimum appropriate age for a person to be vaccinated," states the order..Further, it will also be open to the State to consider administering the vaccine to persons above 18 years who are suffering from any form of disability as indicated in first schedule of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016..Pertinently, the Court has also taken on record the State's submission that all government vaccination centres in Tamil Nadu will have separate counter throughout the day exclusively for persons with disabilities so that they are not made to wait. ."At any rate, persons with disabilities should be given priority in being vaccinated even if the numbers do not warrant an exclusive counter being set up at every government vaccination centre", the Court said. .Highlights of the Court's order and observations today:State should prioritise persons suffering from disabilities in COVID-19 vaccinations, irrespective of whether such person has attained the age of 45. Every care should be taken to obtain information and arrive at a reasoned decision as to the appropriate age before the vaccination is opened up to all persons suffering from disabilities. The State is agreeable to provide a separate counter at all vaccination centres run by the government all over the State to vaccinate only persons with disabilities. Immediate steps should be taken by the State to ensure that vaccination centres are accessible to persons with disabilities by constructing ramps or other measures in accordance with the 2016 Act.The Court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) moved by polio survivor and co-founder of of the Equals Centre for Promotion of Social Justice, Meenakshi Balasubramanian, seeking directions for the inclusion of persons with disabilities and their caregivers as priority groups for COVID-19 vaccinations, given the increased risks and challenges they face during the pandemic..[COVID-19 vaccination] PIL moved in Madras High Court to include Persons with Disability and caregivers in Priority Group.On Friday, the Court had asked the State to come back with instructions on whether any special facility can be extended to disabled persons for COVID-19 vaccinations. .The State today informed that if the Court issues an order to this effect, arrangements can be made to arrange special queues for the vaccination of persons with disabilities. .The State added that it had written to the Centre asking to open up COVID-19 vaccinations for all categories of persons with disabilities. However, it was yet to receive a response on the same. As of now, only certain categories of persons with disabilities were being prioritised under the Centre's rules, the State submitted. .The petitioner's counsel pointed out that presently, all persons who have attained 45 years are eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations. Persons with disabilities were at an increased risk of COVID-19 contraction and mortality, he argued.