The Supreme Court must supervise on vaccine governance to protect right to life enshrined in the constitution of India. Do you agree with this view? Comment (200 Words)
Refer - The Indian Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 3 years
KEY POINTS
· Universal vaccination is a glimmer of hope when a small country like Israel resumes normal life after the vaccination of almost its entire populace.
· The Supreme Court can provide an open and transparent platform by invitation to eminent individuals and institutions such as WHO, ICMR, AIIMS, IITs, major universities, hospitals from India and abroad.
· It can be done again under the Patents Act. The Court can also issue mandamus to undertake this exercise on an emergency basis.
· Thereafter, all pharmaceutical companies with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) as per the Drugs and Cosmetics Act must be allowed to manufacture vaccines at a pre-approved price of cost + 6 per cent return on investment.
· The vaccines can be distributed to states on a pro-rata basis as per population and price adjusted as part of general revenue sharing in GST.
· For vaccine hesitancy, we need to incentivise the vaccination through a direct deposit of Rs 500 in Jan Dhan accounts for each vaccinated member of BPL families.
· This vaccination can be made compulsory for identifiable categories of persons from MGNREGA beneficiaries to Aadhaar Card holders to income-tax payers to bank account holders to driving-licence holders.
