<span style="color: #222222;">Central government has said that door-to-door vaccination for COVID-19 is not possible.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In an affidavit filed before the Bombay High Court, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 has been guiding all aspects of the vaccination drive in India.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">It has given 5 reasons for not having a door-to-door policy for vaccination.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Affidavit says, in case of Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI), there might be a delay in reaching the health facility and managing that case may not be as per requirement.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">It further says, there might be challenges to ensure that the beneficiary of the vaccination is under observation for at least 30 minutes after vaccination.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Union government has also informed that, the vaccine to be administered might be placed in and out of the 'vaccine carrier' for each vaccination thereby increasing the chances of contamination and exposure beyond recommended temperature.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">This could in turn affect the vaccine efficacy and cause AEFIs which will be reduce the confidence in the vaccines.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Also Due to increase in time to reach beneficiaries, there could be an increase in wastage of vaccines.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Health ministry said, it might not be possible to follow the protocols for physical distancing and infection prevention and control during the door to door campaigning.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Responding to a query put by the court regarding the mandatory requirement of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for administering vaccine, the Ministry responded that the occurrence of AEFI is very rare and may not necessarily require admission in an ICU.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Hence, there is no such requirement for an ICU for the administration of COVID-19 vaccines.</span><br />''  <br />