What is point of caller tune asking to get vaccines when there aren’t any?: Delhi HC asks Centre
The bench said that instead of playing the same tune repeatedly, the central authorities should add relevant variations to it.
The Delhi High Court on Thursday tore into the Centre’s public service announcement for Covid awareness, and wondered what was the point of incessantly playing an “irritating” caller tune asking people to get vaccinated, when there were not enough doses for everyone in the country, PTI reported.
“You have been playing that one irritating message on the phone whenever one makes a call, for we do not know how long, that you [people] should have the vaccination, when you [the Centre] don’t have enough vaccine,” a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said. The judges were hearing a plea about the coronavirus situation in the Capital, according to Bar and Bench.
“Who will get vaccination when there is no vaccination?” the bench asked. “What is the point of the message?”
The High Court said the Centre should at the very least ensure that everyone in the country receives a vaccine, “even if you are going to take money” for it. “That is what even children are saying,” the bench said, adding that the government needs to be “innovative” in such matters, according to PTI.
The judges added that instead of playing the same tune repeatedly, the central authorities should add variations to it by coming up with new messages. “Please have more of them [caller tunes],” the court said. “People should hear new ones.”
Besides, authorities should consider collaborating with television anchors and producers to create short awareness programmes about the use of oxygen concentrators and cylinders or on vaccination, the court said.
It also suggested getting celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan to do interviews with doctors. “You need to do it fast,” the judges said, according to Bar and Bench.
To this, senior advocate Rahul Mehra responded: “Mr [Amitabh] Bachchan will be more than happy Mehra This is our opportunity to give him more visibility.”
The court urged authorities to not waste time. “There should be a sense of urgency,” the bench said and directed the Centre and Delhi government to file their reports by May 18 on the steps they are going to take for disseminating information on Covid management.