Karnataka DyCM confirms vaccines are not mandatory for students
Bengaluru: Minister for Higher education, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister Dr. C N Ashwath Narayan clarified that the department would not force any students to get vaccinated and confirmed that the decision to get vaccinated would be up to them.
Although earlier, the higher education department had intended to administer the Covid-19 vaccines to the eligible students in July and planned on resuming classes in August, they have clarified that students do not need to get vaccinated.
According to existing data from the department, 94,000 students have been vaccinated as of June 28, 2021 (Monday). It had earlier been their aim to vaccinate all the students in the course of the next 10 days.
Department Officials have revealed that the students will be given options to attend either online or offline classes as it is not obligatory for students to attend in-person classes after vaccination.
It is to be noted that a doctor from Mangaluru Dr. Srinivas Kakkilaya along with a student and parents of two students had sent legal notice to the Karnataka Government after it had announced that the colleges in the state will reopen after all the students, teaching and non-teaching staff would be vaccinated in a special vaccination drive. In the notice they had termed the government's move as illegal and unscientific, adding that vaccines cannot be made mandatory on any citizen and it should be a voluntary call. It had further cited the judgement of Meghalaya High Court to support their cause.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
