This Punjab City Is Vaccinating All Teachers, Journalists & Bankers. More Cities To Follow?

The Ludhiana administration has decided to administer COVID-19 vaccine doses to judges, lawyers, teachers and journalists in the city.

Apart from the above-mentioned groups, workers of banks, NGOs, cooperative societies and food grain societies will also be administered COVID vaccine on priority.

The expansion of vaccination programme by the Ludhiana government comes two weeks after Centre started administering vaccines to all above 60 and those above 45 with illnesses.

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Centre opposes inclusion of judges, lawyers in vaccine priority group

The Centre has opposed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking prioritisation of judges, lawyers and judicial staff in COVID-19 vaccine administration.

The government said, "it may not be desirable to create a separate class consisting of judges, lawyers, and court staff below the age of 45 for administering the COVID-19 vaccine on a priority basis."

"It may not be desirable to create a separate class consisting of lawyers and others below 45 years of age discriminating persons engaged in other trade, profession or business and working under similar geographic conditions and circumstances as such a classification would necessarily lead to discrimination," read the affidavit filed by Manohar Agnani, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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The Centre also stated that lawyers and judicial staff who are above 60 years of age or are above 45 years old with co-morbidities are anyway covered by the ongoing vaccination drive.

It also said the vaccine, which is already being produced beyond the manpower and infrastructural capacity, is also being exported in view of the global pandemic.