New Delhi:

The younger generation which has lost so many lives to COVID-19 should have been vaccinated first as it is the nation’s future but the jabs were prioritised for the elderly who have lived their lives, the Delhi High Court observed on Tuesday.

The court made it clear however that it was not at all saying the lives of older people are not important as the emotional support which the elderly persons provide to a family cannot be discounted.

Justice Sanghi, speaking for himself, said that in the second wave of COVID-19, it was the younger generation that was more affected and they are not getting vaccines and added “I don’t understand this vaccination policy at all”.

“I can speak for myself… You have announced the vaccination policy for 18 to 44 years old persons now but you don’t have vaccines. Then why you have to announce and make a declaration when you don’t have the vaccines? We have to invest in the future and we are sidelining them,” Justice Sanghi said.

“We have to secure our future for that we need to vaccinate our younger generation and here we are giving priority to 60 plus who have lived their lives. It is the younger lot which is the future, we are on our way out,” he added.

The judge pointed out that so many young people have lost their lives to COVID-19.

He added that in this time of crisis, if a choice has to be made, “we have to chose the younger one” because an 80-year-old person has lived his live and he will not take the country forward.

“Ideally, we should be able to save everyone but if we have to chose, we have to save younger people,” the judge said.

When the Centre’s counsel said only God can help us now, the judge said this is the area where even God cannot help us if we do not act ourselves, noting the facts and figures.

“Why are you feeling shy? It is the duty of the government to lay down the way forward. Other countries have done it. In Italy, they said sorry for old people we do not have beds,” Justice Sanghi said.

The court’s observations came while hearing pleas relating to the management of the COVID-19 crisis in Delhi, including shortage of medicine to treat black fungus patients.