CUTTACK: An elderly couple has turned to the Orissa High Court after being deprived of a timely Covid booster due to an erroneous vaccine certificate. The petition was filed by Narendra Kumar Das, a 68-year-old diabetic, and his wife Tulsi Swain, a 66-year-old asthma patient.
Acting on it, the single-judge bench of Justice Biswanath Rath has issued notices to the Central and State governments. Both had taken the first and second dose of vaccination (Covaxin) at Aditya Aswini Hospital at Chandrasekharpur in Bhubaneswar on March 1, 2021, and April 1, 2021, respectively by paying the service charges.
But the final certificates released after the second dose mentioned that the vaccine was given to them at the IRC village PHC on August 19, 2021. Consequently, the booster dose is scheduled for May this year, instead of January.
Justice Rath said the allegation was serious as the petitioners had taken both the doses of the Covid vaccine in Aditya Aswini Hospital but the dates and venue of administering both the doses in the final certificates granted at the instance of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare were contrary to it.
“It is for the indication in the final certificates that the petitioners are facing problem in taking the booster dose, ‘’ Justice Rath observed in his February 3 order while taking serious note of such discrepancy. He felt the error had put the lives of the petitioners at risk.
He posted the matter to February 16 and clarified pendency of the writ petition shall not be a bar for correcting the final certificates.