Supreme Court: Can't force someone to get vaccinated against COVID

At the hearing on the government's current policy, the Supreme Court on Monday stated that they cannot force any individual to get vaccinated, citing "bodily integrity is a part of the fundamental right to life under Article 21."

The apex court asked all officials and educational institutions including private, to review its vaccine mandates if they have not already been recalled. 

The court found the government's current policy unreasonable, considering the gravity of the infection and its causes, the bench added. 

While the suggestion by the courtroom is restricted to the petition's hand, the court added that it will not prevent or stop the government from taking any steps in the future to prevent the spread of the infection. 

The bench added that until the numbers are low, the court suggests that the relevant directions should be followed and there should be no restriction imposed on individual who is not vaccinated to access the public places or recall the same if already not done. 

While on the children's vaccination, the court agreed that the policy to vaccinate individuals under 18 should be made public, and directed the centre to make public all clinical trials, key findings, and results of vaccines that have already been cleared.

For the cases connected with adverse effects, the court instructed the central government "to facilitate information of all suspected adverse effects on a virtual platform which is easily accessible to the public."

The petitioner raised concerns that there is not enough data regarding the efficacy of the vaccines. 
 
According to official data, more than 189 million vaccines have been given as long as India is considering expanding its scope. Over the past month, all adults have been granted booster immunization, but the government has also released the vaccine to children over the age of five.

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