Compensation to be paid for serious adverse Covaxin events

Compensation to be paid for serious adverse Covaxin events

Sumitra.DebRoy@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:16.01.2021

Beneficiaries who receive Covaxin, a Bharat Biotech product, will be paid a compensation if they suffer a serious adverse event that is proven to be causally related to the vaccine.

The compensation was one of the points highlighted on top of the consent form shared with vaccination centres on Friday. Six centres in the state, including JJ Hospital in the city, will give Covaxin.

The form stated that the beneficiaries would be provided care in governmentdesignated and authorised centres or hospitals if they suffered serious after-effects.

3,006 session sites cover all states, UTs

Preparations for vaccine rollout were completed on Friday with the control room in Nirman Bhawan — which houses the health ministry — set to scrutinise implementation of the pan-India drive on a real-time basis. The PM will flag off the drive on Saturday at 10.30 am, activating 3,006 session sites covering all states and UTs.

SEE INSIDE FLAP

Govt says companies shall be liable for all adversities

The issue of liability has been a bone of contention between vaccinemakers and the government, with the former having made demands that it be indemnified against mishaps.

The vaccine purchase order of the government said the companies shall be liable for all adversities. State officials said that only the turnout on Saturday would tell whether a three-page consent form will allay concerns. The state is among 11to accept the vaccine, which is still undergoing phase III trials and has no large efficacy data. Unlike those getting Covishield, beneficiaries of Covaxin have to sign a consent form as it has been approved for restricted use in emergency situations and is supposed to be given in clinical trial mode. The recipients will also be handed over a fact-sheet and an adverse effect reporting form where they would have to note down any symptoms such as fever, pain and redness suffered within the first seven days. The consent form starts with the company saying that the vaccine has demonstrated the ability to produce antibodies against Covid-19 in phase 1and phase 2 clinical trials.

“However, the clinical efficacy of Covaxin is yet to be established and is still being studied in phase 3 clinical trial,” it said. For those listed to get this vaccine, though, it was Covaxin or no vaccine. “What if we don’t want to take an unproven vaccine? We will have to go without any vaccine at all and continue to work in Covid wards,” a physician from a medical college said.

11 eminent docs will take jabs on 1st day of TN vaccine drive

11 eminent docs will take jabs on 1st day of TN vaccine drive

Vaccination At 166 Centres Across State

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:16.01.2021

At least 11 eminent doctors, including Apollo Hospitals chairman Dr Prathap Reddy, ENT surgeon Dr Mohan Kameshwaran and Dr MGR Medical University vice-chancellor Dr Sudha Seshayyan, will be among the first to take Covid-19 vaccine as part of the nation-wide drive set to start on Saturday.

“The wait has ended, I will take the vaccine at 10.30am,” said Dr Sudha Sehayyan, who will be taking the vaccine from Rajiv Gandhi Government GH, her alma mater. Senior ENT surgeon Dr Mohan Kameshwaran, who will visit Apollo Hospitals, said, “I trust the vaccine can help me and a lot of people. It can put an end to the pandemic,” he said.

After the PM flags off the event in Delhi, chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami will inaugurate the drive from Rajaji Government GH in Madurai. Healthcare workers will then start inoculating doctors, nurses, medicos, paramedics and other healthcare workers. On Saturday,166 centres — both government and private — across the state will offer the vaccine, director of public health Dr TS Selvavinayagam said. Tamil Nadu has received 5.56 lakh doses of vaccines – 5.36 lakh doses of Serum Institute’s Covishield and 20,000 doses of Covaxin manufactured by Bharat Biotech. Covaxin will be available in six centres. “At all these centres, beneficiaries can make a choice between the vaccines. If they are taking Covaxin, they have to sign a consent form,” he said. Ophthalmologist Dr Mohan Rajan, MGM director Dr Prasanth Rajagopalan, heads of doctors’ associations and deans of government medical colleges Dr R Jayanthi and Dr ETheranirajan will also be taking the vaccine on Saturday.

‘Drive now can help avert second wave’

Amid significant decline in active Covid cases in India, experts say the timing of the vaccine rollout is apt as it can help avoid a new wave, particularly in the wake of the new UK strain, reports Sushmi Dey. Meanwhile, Serum will dispatch its first overseas consignment of 20 lakh doses of Covishield vaccine to Brazil in two weeks. SEE INSIDE FLAP

Cases filed against 25 theatres in city

The city police have booked cases against at least 25 theatres for screening Vijay-starrer “Master” for not adhering to the 50% occupancy norm. A special police team kept a tab on social media to find if theatres were following the Covid-19 occupancy norm. A team of the MGR Nagar police station found 100% occupancy at 11am show. P 2

143 apply for post of BDU V-C

143 apply for post of BDU V-C

Sambath.Kumar@timesgroup.com

Trichy:16.01.2021

A total of 143 candidates from across the country have applied for the post of vice-chancellor of University, according to the shortlist released by the VC search committee on Friday. This is 41% less compared to last time when a total of 241 candidates applied for the post. Academicians say the search committee has managed to eliminate non-serious candidates from applying for the post unlike in the past.

The list of shortlisted candidates was released by the search committee on the university website.

Academicians point out that the application format was slightly different from last time with the search committee asking for valid prof of academic and administrative experience. This kept away non-serious candidates as the evidence of their academic experience was sought along with the application.

“A majority of the applicants have applied for one university or the other in the past for the post of vice-chancellor. This shows that they are serious about the position. If there is no political influence, we can say that an eminent academician will become the vicechancellor of BDU,” said M S Balamurugan, general secretary, Association of University Teachers.

The tenure of previous vice-chancellor P Manisankar had ended on January 7 following which a three-member vice-chancellor search committee was constituted for selecting the next VC last month.

A few suitable candidates will be called for interview by the committee in a few days.

Based on the interview, three names will be sent to the chancellor who will select the vicechancellor.

High court asks Pondy to fix PG medical, dental course fees in deemed universities

High court asks Pondy to fix PG medical, dental course fees in deemed universities

Bosco.Dominique@timesgroup.com

Puducherry:16.01.2021

The long-drawn battle to regulate the fees in the deemed universities in the Union territory of Puducherry ended in favour of the student community with a Madras high court bench declaring that the government can fix fee for the postgraduate medical and dental courses offered by the universities.

Disposing of a public interest litigation filed by advocate V B R Menon, the Madras high court bench comprising justice T S Sivagnanam and justice V Bhavani Subbaroyan declared that the Puducherry fee committee shall fix the fee for postgraduate medical and dental courses from the academic year 2017-18 to 2020-21 in the deemed universities.

The fees shall be fixed on an ad-hoc basis until a committee constituted by the University Grants Commission (UGC) finalises the fee structure as per an order passed by the Supreme Court on April 15 in 2019. The Supreme Court, however, had directed the UGC committee not to implement the fee structure until further orders.

The bench also directed the National Medical Commission to determine the fee structure as per the NMC Act, 2019 for the academic year 2021-22. The Puducherry fee committee had fixed ₹5.5 lakh per annum as the fee under government quota and ₹14 lakh per annum under management quota in private medical colleges. However, deemed universities continued to charge nearly double the sum as fees, prompting Menon to file the PIL. The then first bench, while passing an order on June 16, 2017, opined that the fee collected by the deemed universities is 'unreasonably high, arbitrary and prohibitory.’ The PIL-petitioner had argued that many students, who had cleared the admission process, undergone counselling and allowed provisional admission have not been able to join by reason of their inability to deposit ₹40 lakh to ₹50 lakh at short notice and the seats are lying vacant.

The court said erstwhile members of the Centralized Admission Committee (Centac), Puducherry and erstwhile officials of the directorate of health and family welfare services had wrongly interpreted legal position against the interest of the student community. It said the decision was overruled by the Supreme Court and, therefore, the view of the Centac members and health officials are 'non-est, in so far as it relates to the prescription of fees by the deemed universities'. The CBI, anti-corruption branch (ACB), Chennai, which booked 13 people, including government officials, on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct by a public servant in September 2017, later said that 'no action is contemplated against six government officials - the then Centac chairman, the then director (health and family welfare), the then secretary (health), the then Centac convener, the then Centac joint convener and the then Centac coordinator.

Breaking: NBE announces NEET PG 2021 dates, specifies who is eligible

Breaking: NBE announces NEET PG 2021 dates, specifies who is eligible: New Delhi: Putting end to major suspense regarding the dates of NEET PG 2021 examination, the National Board of Examinations (NBE) has released the dates of the exam.As per NBE's announcement, NEET...

Delhi HC Seeks CBSE Response On Transgender Man's Plea Seeking Change Of Name & Photograph In School Certificates

Delhi HC Seeks CBSE Response On Transgender Man's Plea Seeking Change Of Name & Photograph In School Certificates

Radhika Roy

14 Jan 2021 5:43 PM

The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought for a response from Union of India and CBSE on an Application filed by a transgender man who is seeking for a change of his name and photograph in his school certificates.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh presided over the Application which had been filed in a plea challenging the validity of Bye-Laws issued by the CBSE which fails to provide a mechanism for transgender persons to change their name and gender on their Class X and Class XII certificates.

It has been contended that the bye-law is "arbitrary, irrational, discriminatory and violative of the privacy, dignity and autonomy of the Petitioner guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution as it requires transgender people to undergo a cumbersome two-step process meant for cis-gender students, first of publication of name change in the Official Gazette and subsequently obtaining a direction from the Court to that effect, which must be done before the publication of the examination result".

The instant Application, filed by Advocates Amritananda Chakravorty, Mihir Samson and Shreya Munoth, has been filed to seek directions to implement the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which came into effect on 10th January, 2020, along with the Transgender Persons Rules, 2020, which was published on 25th September, 2020, and change the Petitioner's name, gender and photograph in his Class X and Class XII certificates.

The Application submits that notice had been issued in the aforementioned petition on March 11, 2019, subsequent to which a Committee had been constituted wherein it was noted that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, was pending in the Parliament.

Subsequently, the Bill was passed and Section 3 of the Act guarantees the protection of non-discrimination in all State activity and prohibits the denial, discontinuation or unfair treatment against transgender persons in all educational establishments and services therof. Further, Section 4 grants recognition to the self-perceived gender identity of transgender persons, and procedure for the same is laid down in Sections 5, 6 and 7.

The Rules, further, mandate that transgender persons shall be entitiled to record or change the gender, as well as photograph and name, if so necessitated in all official documents, including their educational certificates, in accordance with their self-identified gender recorded in their identity cards. Additionally, any authority that has issued the official document has to make the change within 15 days of such an application and that the revised document must bear the same serial or reference number as in the original official document.

The Application then goes on to submit that the Petitioner has already had his self-identified gender of male recorded in his official identity documentation, prior to the Act coming into force, and is therefore entitled to all the rights and entitlements under the Act, but would not be required to submit a fresh application for certificate of identity under the Transgender Persons Act.

"The Petitioner has been facing tremendous financial distress due to the incongruency of his documents and the consequent lack of employment opportunities" due to the lack of implementation of the mandate of the Transgender Persons Act and its Rules.

Additionally, Class X and Class XII certificates are vital documents that are requested by many employers and examination bodies as proof of age, proof of date of birth and also to assess the candidate's merit and eligibility. Therefore, the Application submits, the Respondent's refusal to issue gender congruent documents has forced him to use his female "dead name", which is violative of his fundamental rights to privacy, dignity and autonomy and has resulted in a distressing situation with the Petitioner having different identities as per different documents.

In light of the above, the Application prays for the Petitioner's name, photograph and gender to be changed as per the law stipulated in the Transgender Persons Act and Rules.

Delhi HC Seeks CBSE Response On Transgender Man's Plea Seeking Change Of Name & Photograph In School Certificates

Delhi HC Seeks CBSE Response On Transgender Man's Plea Seeking Change Of Name & Photograph In School Certificates: The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought for a response from Union of India and CBSE on an Application filed by a transgender man who is seeking for a change of his name and photograph in his school...