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What is the News?
The Supreme Court has said that no person can be forced to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and asked the Union government to make public the effects of such immunization.
What was the case about?
A petition was filed in the Supreme Court seeking disclosure of vaccine trial data and a stay on vaccine mandates.
What was the judgement of the Supreme Court?
No Forced Vaccination
The Supreme Court upheld the current vaccination policy of the Indian Government. However, the court made it clear that vaccines cannot be made mandatory, and no person can be forced to get vaccinated against his or her wishes.
This is because the right to bodily integrity of a person under Article 21 of the Constitution includes the right to refuse vaccination.
However, when the issue extended to “communitarian health”, the government was indeed entitled to regulate issues.
But the Courts also had the authority to review whether the government’s interventions met the “three-fold” requirements as expounded in the Constitution Bench judgment in K.S. Puttaswamy case (the judgment which upheld the right of privacy as a constitutional right under Article 21).
Set up the virtual public platform
The court directed the Centre to set up a virtual public platform at the earliest to facilitate individuals and private doctors to report adverse vaccine events without compromising their privacy.
Vaccine Trial Data be made public
The court directed the Union government to ensure that the findings and results of the relevant phases of clinical trials of vaccines already approved by the regulating authorities for administration to children be made public at the earliest.
Source: The post is based on the articles:
“No one can be forced to get vaccinated:Supreme Court” published in The Hindu on 3rd May 2022.
“Covid vaccination can’t be forced, made mandatory: SC” published in TOI on 2nd May 2022.
“No individual can be forced to undergo covid vaccination: SC”published in Livemint on 3rd May 2022.
