‘You don't have enough vaccine', Delhi HC slams Centre over dialer tune urging people to vaccinate

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court criticised the Centre over the dialer tune urging people to get vaccinated when there is a shortage of vaccine doses. The court said that the 'irritating' message was played for 'don't know how long' asking people to get vaccinated when there is not enough vaccine.

"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 (Centre) don't have enough vaccine. You are not vaccinating people, but you still say that vaccination lagavaiye (get vaccinated). Kaun lagayega vaccine (who will give vaccine), when there is no vaccination. What is the point of the message," a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said?

"You should give it to everyone. Even if you are going to take money, give it. That is what even children are saying," the bench said and added that the government needs to be "innovative" in such things.

The court said that the government should prepare more of such messages instead of just one and running it always. "Till like a tape it stops running or starts skipping, you will run it for 10 years," it said.

The bench said the government, state or Centre, have to react to the situation on the ground. It said that if a person hears a different dialer message every time, it might help them.

It also said that celebs like Amitabh Bachchan can be asked to chip in and that all this "needs to be done soon". The court said that a lot of "publicity and propaganda" was there last year on washing of hands regularly and wearing of masks and now there should be similar audio-visual initiatives on use of oxygen, concentrators, medications, etc.