SC says nobody can be forced to get vaccinated; health experts welcome decision, advise caution

Experts have welcomed the Supreme Courtrsquos judgment on Monday that people cannot be forced to take vaccines as they have the right to bodily integrity under Article 21 of the Constitution Healthcare experts however said that it is advisable that citizens take the vaccine on their own accord and continue following COVIDappropriate behaviourDr Wiqar Shaikh professor of Medicine Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals said he was not surprised at the Supreme Courtrsquos decision He added that initially only one dose was recommended which was later extended to two doses and now booster doses too as studies have found that the vaccineinduced antibodies drastically reduced within 3 to 6 monthsSpeaking on the efficacy of booster doses Dr Shaikh quoted an article in the New England Journal of Medicine dated April 21 which concluded that current COVID19 vaccines were not effective against Omicron variants and said it was more important for people to follow COVIDappropriate behaviour including wearing masks ldquowhich should be made mandatoryrdquoNeed more dataldquoIt appears that the government did not have adequate Indian data to demonstrate that as compared to vaccinated individuals the unvaccinated are more vulnerable to COVID19 infections and reinfections run a higher risk of severity of the disease and fatality are also at a higher risk of generating mutant variations of the virus But there are several good published studies worldwide that have clearly shown the difference between the two groups and that mass vaccination reduced the emergence of newer variants The slowing down of support for vaccinations can be avoided by generating adequate national studies that will satisfy the public and the SCrdquo said Dr Subhash Hira professor of Global Health at University of WashingtonSeattle and an advisor to WHOTDR GenevaHe added ldquoScientists who have followed the 40year struggle of the HIVAIDS pandemic will vouch that lack of local studies and incountry data led to reduced support for vaccines Consequently instead of early vaccines against fewer recombinant forms HIVAIDS kept adding recombinant forms that now tally over 90 strains which has made it increasingly difficult to produce a polyvalent vaccine for protection against all the variants I would be wary of India taking advice from poorlyexperienced scientists who have a low depth of public health knowledge and global experiencerdquo Donrsquot bar unjabbedDr Santosh Kadam vicepresident Indian Medical AssociationMaharashtra said ldquoWorld over leaders doctors WHO officials have been advocating vaccination against COVID19 in the larger interest of the community but vaccination should not be made mandatory for gaining access to facilities and public places as mandated by some states Those without the vaccine should not be barred as at present case positivity is very low but at the same time vaccination should be advised as it is in the larger interestrdquoDr Kadam said the vaccine needs to be taken by the public at large voluntarily as ldquowe have experienced in the past two years even if someone gets infected after the vaccine it does not lead to complications and lowers fatalityrdquo Constitutional expertrsquos viewAdvocate Shreeprasad Parab who specialises in constitutional law said ldquoArticle 21 of our Constitution states that lsquono person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by lawrsquo Right to life or personal liberty is linked with freedom under article 19 and arbitrariness under article 14 The state while imposing the compulsion for COVID vaccination failed to prove the test of just fair and reasonableness with regards to the risk of transmission by a person who is not vaccinated as compared to a person who is vaccinated Thus the restriction by the state is violative of the guarantee against arbitrary action by the staterdquoWhat SC saidThe Supreme Court of India on Monday said that no individual should be forced to get COVID vaccine and added that the conditions imposed by some state governments such as restricting those without vaccine access to public places is disproportional and should be recalled in the present prevailing conditionsThe court added that it was satisfied that the current vaccination policy on the basis of unanimous views of experts about the benefits cannot be said to be lsquounreasonable and manifestly arbitraryrsquo It further said that the government is entitled to regulate issues of public health concern by imposing certain limitations on individual rights which are open to scrutiny by constitutional courts to assess whether such invasion is appropriate into an individualrsquos right to personal autonomy and right to access