Let’s wait for WHO’s decision: SC on PIL seeking international recognition of Covaxin

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 29

The Supreme Court on Friday said that it will prefer to wait for the WHO’s decision on the recognition of Covaxin before considering a PIL seeking permission for voluntary revaccination against COVID-19 with Covishield for those fully vaccinated with Covaxin to enable them to travel abroad.

A Bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud said it can’t play with lives of people by directing the government to permit those already fully vaccinated with Covaxin to get revaccinated with Covershield.

The apex court was hearing a petition that said that Covaxin was not approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and people here are facing difficulty in getting permission to travel abroad.

A Bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud said that the court does not have any data of what will be the effect on the people and it cannot simply direct the Centre to re-vaccinate people with Covishield.

“We cannot play with the lives of people by directing the Centre to revaccinate. We don’t have any data with us. We have read in newspapers that Bharat Biotech has filed an application with the WHO for recognition. Let’s wait for the WHO authorisation and have it after Diwali. Let us wait for a little while,” the Bench said.

Petitioner advocate Kartik Seth said students and others who wanted to go abroad were denied entry to foreign countries as Covaxin was not recognised by the WHO. At the time of rolling out of Covaxin, the Centre didn’t make the public aware that it wasn’t approved by the WHO.

As WHO approval remains pending, several countries such as the US, the UK, Germany, Canada etc. have been treating Indians vaccinated with Covaxin as un-vaccinated, he contended. He demanded that Covexin-administered people should be allowed to get re-vaccinated after three months of the second dose, since Covaxin hasn’t been approved by the WHO for emergency use for the last five months.