Directing the central government to disclose the adverse effects of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Supreme Court on Monday said that a person cannot be forced to get vaccinated against his will. A two-judge bench comprising Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice BR Gavai, however, was satisfied that the current vaccine policy was not “arbitrary”.
“Given bodily autonomy, bodily integrity is protected under Article 21. No one can be forced to vaccinate. (But) the government can exercise control in areas of bodily autonomy,” the court said, according to the Bar and Bench report.
Noting that the government can regulate in areas of bodily autonomy, the apex court also said that vaccine trial data should be kept in the public domain. It also said that no restrictions should be imposed on individuals on entering public areas until the number of Covid-19 comes down.
