HC hearing on PIL seeking direct vaccine supply to States tomorrow

Paediatrician’s petition also prays for deregulation of supply of essential drugs

Reflecting the State government’s claim that certain anomalies in the Central government’s policy is hampering its COVID-19 vaccination drive, P. Subrahmanya Sastry, a Guntur-based paediatrician, has filed a PIL in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, appealing for a direction to the Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech to supply the vaccines directly without being hindered by the policy framework of the Union of India. The petition is scheduled to come up for hearing by a Vacation Bench on May 14. Dr. Sastry also prayed for a direction to the Union government to deregulate the supply of essential drugs such as Remdesivir to enable the State government to procure them from the manufacturers, or instruct the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and the Department of Pharmaceuticals to allocate sufficient number of vials of Remdesivir and Tocilizumab, and to ensure the supply of 700 tonnes of oxygen per day keeping in view the anticipated increase in the COVID-19 infections.