Centre’s vaccine allocation to TN should not be diverted: HC

Chennai The Madras high court on Thursday said that the Centre’s allocation to Tamil Nadu on vaccines should not be diverted because of the state’s decision a day back to call for a global tender

Chennai The Madras high court on Thursday said that the Centre’s allocation to Tamil Nadu on vaccines should not be diverted because of the state’s decision a day back to call for a global tender.

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During the hearing on the suo motu case registered to monitor preparedness of Covid-19 second wave in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy observed that a global tender may be a long drawn process. “As and when the global tender matures and supplies are received, the state’s allocation by the Centre may be appropriately reworked,” the court said. The court reiterated its suggestions from a day back that vaccine centres be relocated from hospitals to minimise the spread of the virus.

The court recorded that the Centre has increased oxygen supply to the state to 510 MT per day but the supply of 40 MT from Palakkad in Kerala to southern and western districts in Tamil Nadu may have been halted from Thursday. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) R Sankaranarayanan informed the court that additional oxygen supply would come from Orissa by Thursday night to make up for the loss. “Overall there doesn’t appear to be a great dearth of oxygen in the state at the moment,” the court said. “By and large things appear to be under control and nothing untoward has thankfully been reported on account of lack of oxygen or the like.”

But during the hearing, an advocate Naveen Kumar Murthi alleged that at least nine patients have died waiting in ambulances at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) in Chennai. Advocate General R Shunmughasundaram appearing for the state explained that the government hospital doesn’t deny admissions and everyone is being monitored and that the state would address the situation. Measures are being adopted to increase the beds across the state, he added. The bench suggested that stretchers can be placed in corridors as a temporary measure if beds are unavailable. It pointed out that if ambulances are used to treat patients, other patients may not be able to avail ambulance facilities. “This is a war-like situation,” the court said.

On the issue of vaccines to be made available for people with disabilities, the court hoped to get a better picture of the prospects of getting more vaccines before it can issue directions for prioritisation. The court also asked for immediate steps to be taken to accelerate vaccination by increasing awareness, particularly in non urban areas to prevent a large number of cases in the future.

As there is a scramble for the drug Remdesivir in Chennai where people are waiting in serpentine queues and some are waiting overnight, the AG submitted that counters from Kilpauk Medical College will be shifted to the city’s Nehru indoor stadium. At least 20,000 vials will be sold in a day, the AG added.

The next hearing has been adjourned to Monday.