The HIMACHAL PRADESH VACCINATION ACT, 1968

THE HIMACHAL PRADESH VACCINATION ACT, 1968. 
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
Sections: 
1.  Short title, extent and commencement.  
2.  Definitions. 
3.  Prohibition of inoculation and inoculated persons from 
entering without certificate. 
4.  Vaccination circles. 
5.  Vaccinators and Superintendents of Vaccination.  
6.  Private vaccinators. 
7.  Unprotected child to be vaccinated or re-vaccinated.  
8.  Inspection after vaccination. 
9.  Procedure when vaccination is successful. 
10.  Procedure when vaccination is unsuccessful. 
11.  What vaccine lymph to be used.  
12.  Vaccination fee. 
13.  Duties of Superintendent of Vaccination. 
14.  Order by magistrate when notice under section 13 is not 
obeyed. 
15.  Power to make rules. 
16.  Punishment of offences. 
17.  Local bodies to receive fees and meet expenditure.  
18.  Repeal and savings. 
19.  Removal of difficulty. 
SCHEDULE 
________________ 
THE HIMACHAL PRADESH VACCINATION ACT, 1968 
(ACT NO. 17 OF 1969)1 
(Received the assent of the Vice-President acting as the President on 
the 21 st May, 1969 and  was published in the Rajpatra, Himachal Pradesh 
(Extra-ordinary), dated the 23rd July, 1969, pp. 701-708.) 
 
                                                 
1.  For Statement of Objects  and Reasons   see the Rajpatra, Himachal Pradesh 
(Extra-ordinary), dated the 30th November, 1968, p. 1187. 
2  THE HIMACHAL PRADESH VACCINATION ACT, 1968 
Amended, repealed or otherwise affected by, -  
The Himachal Pradesh Adoption of Laws (State and Concurrent 
Subjects) Order, 1973, published in the Rajpatra, Himachal Pradesh 
(Extra-ordinary), dated the 20th January, 1973, pp. 91-112, effective 
from 25th January, 1971. 
   An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the prohibition of 
inoculation and to make the primary vaccination and re -
vaccination of children compulsory throughout Himachal Pradesh. 
BE it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh in the 
Nineteenth Year of the Republic of India, as follows:- 
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be 
called the Himachal Pradesh Vaccination Act, 1968. 
(2) It shall come into force at once. 
(3) It extends to the whole of Himachal Pradesh. 
2. Definitions.- In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the 
subject or context,- 
(1)  "child" means a person who ha s not a ttained the age of 
thirteen years; 
(2)  "guardian" means any person to whom the care, nurt ure or 
custody of any child falls ei ther by law or by nat ural right or 
recognised usage or who has accepted or assumed the care, 
nurture or custody of any child or to whom the care, nurture 
or custody of any child has been entrust ed by a ny lawful 
authority ; 
(3)  "inoculation" means any operation performed wi th the object 
of producing the disease of small-pox in any person by means 
of variolous matter ; 
(4)  "local area" me ans an area under the cont rol of a local 
authority, including a cantonment; 
(5) "notificat ion" me ans notification p ublished under p roper 
authority in Rajpatra, Himachal Pradesh; 
(6)  "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act ; 
(7)  "primary vaccination" is the first successful vaccina tion after 
birth; 
(8) "re-vaccination" is any subsequent vaccination after primary    
vaccination; 
(9)  "State" means the 1[State of Himachal Pradesh]; 
 
                                                 
1.  Substituted for "Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh" by A.O. 1973.  
THE HIMACHAL PRADESH VACCINATION ACT, 1968   3 
(10) "Government" or "State Government" means the Government 
of Himachal Pradesh; 
(11)  "unprotected child" means a child who has not had small -pox 
and has no t been vaccinated o r who has not, within a period 
of five years, been successfully re-vaccinated;  
(12) "vaccination" means an operation by which suff icient lymph 
is introduced into the skin and allowed to be absorbed without 
any interference or exposure to sun for at least fifteen minutes 
following the operation; 
(13) "vaccination s tation" means a place where vaccinati on is 
performed free of charge by the direction or under the 
authorisation of the Medical Officer of Health concerned; 
(14) "vaccination circle" means a local area or one of the parts into 
which a local area has been divided under this Act for the per-
formance of vaccination; and 
(15) "vaccinator" me ans any person appointed under t his Act to 
perform the operation of vaccination or any private person  
authorised by the Gove rnment to perform the same operation 
and includes a Superintendent of Vaccination and Inspector of 
Vaccination and Sanitation. 
3. Prohibition of inoculation and inoculated persons from 
entering without certificate. - Inoculation shall be prohibited throughout the 
State and no person who has undergone inoculation shall enter the State 
before the lapse of forty days from the da te of the ope ration, without a 
certificate from a medical practitioner of such class as the Government may, 
from time to time, by wri tten order, authorise to grant such certificate, stating 
that such person is no longer l ikely to produce small -pox by contact or near 
approach. 
4. Vaccination circles. - A local area may, in the prescribed ma nner, 
be divided into a number of vaccination circles. 
5. Vaccinators and Superintendents of Vacc ination.- (1) One or 
more vaccinators sh all be appointed with the prescribed qualifications for 
each vaccination circle, and one or more Superintendents of vaccination shall 
be appointed with the prescribed qualifications for each local area. 
(2) Each of the officers referred to in sub-section (1) shall be known 
as a "public vaccinator”. 
6. Private vaccinators. -The State Government may, by wri tten 
licence, subject to conditions as prescribed, authorise private Vaccinators to 
perform vaccination in any vaccination circle, and may suspend or cancel  any 
such licence. 
7. Unprotected child to be vaccinated or re -vaccinated.- (l) The 
guardian of every unprotected child who has not been vaccinated shall procure 
its primary vaccination before the child attains the age of six months. 
4  THE HIMACHAL PRADESH VACCINATION ACT, 1968 
(2) Every child before attainment of the age of thirteen years shall be 
re-vaccinated so that the interval between the primary vaccination and the first 
re-vaccination and between the two r e-vaccinations, and between the last  re-
vaccination and his attaining the age of thirteen years shall not, in any case, be 
more than five years. 
(3) Whenever the residence of an unprotected child is changed, the 
guardian of such child shall, within one month of such change of residence, 
notify the same to the Medical Officer of Health, or any other person autho-
rised by him in this behalf, of the place from which the residence was changed 
furnishing full particulars as to the new residence of the child. 
(4) If a vaccina tion finds that an unprotected child is not in a fit state 
of health to be v accinated or re-vaccinated, he shall deliver to the guardian of 
such child a certificate to the effect that the child is not then in a fit state for  
vaccination or re -vaccination, as the case may be. Such certificate shall 
remain in force for the period sp ecified therein, but may  be renewed, from 
time to time, by the vaccinator if such child continues to be unfit. The reason 
for the unfitness shall be specified in the certificate. 
(5) On the termination of the period of unfitness the guardian of such  
child shall take the child or cause it to be taken to a vaccinator to be  
vaccinated or re-vaccinated, or procure its vaccination or re -vaccination at his 
own house by a vaccinator: 
Provided that if the child is still found to be in a s tate unfi t for 
vaccination or re-vaccination, the certificate granted shall be renewed. 
(6) If a vaccinator finds that an unprotected child is in a state of health 
fit for vaccination or re -vaccination he shall vaccinate or re -vaccinate such 
child, and deliver to its guardian a memorandum stating the date on which the 
vaccination or re -vaccination was performed, specifying the date, time and 
place at which the child should be present or be produced, as the case may be, 
for inspection. 
(7) The Medical Officer of Health may at any tim e cancel any certi-
ficate given under this section if he is satisfied that the child was not unfit, and 
thereupon such certificate shall ce ase to be valid, and notice of such 
cancellation shall forthwith be given by him to the guardian of such child. 
8. Inspection after vaccination.-The guardian of every child who has 
been vaccinated or re-vaccinated shall, on the date , time and place notified as 
aforesaid, take the child or cause it to be taken to a vaccinator for inspec tion 
or get it inspected at his hous e by a vaccinator, and such vaccinator shall then 
append to the memorandum a certificate stating that the child has been 
inspected and the result of such inspection. 
9. Procedure when vaccination is successful.-When it is ascertained 
at the time of inspecting a child that the vaccination or re-vaccination has been 
successful, a certificate shall be given by a vaccinator to the guardian to that 
effect and such child shall be deemed to be protected for a period of five years 
after the date of vaccination or re-vaccination, as the case may be. 
THE HIMACHAL PRADESH VACCINATION ACT, 1968   5 
10. Procedure when vaccination is unsuccessful. - When it is 
ascertained that the vaccination or re -vaccination has been unsuccessful, the 
child shall be caused by the guardian to be vaccinated again forthwith, if so 
desired by the vaccinator and subsequently inspected as aforesaid: 
Provided that where the vaccination or re -vaccination has been un -
successful on three consecutive occasions, the chi ld shall be considered to 
have natural immunity from small -pox and shall be exempted from vaccina -
tion thereafter. 
11. What vaccine lymph to be used. - Only such vaccine lymph as 
has been approved by the Director of Health Services, Himachal Pradesh, 
shall be used for vaccination or re-vaccination. 
12. Vaccination fee.- (l) No fee or remuneration shall be accepted by 
a public vaccinator for any vaccination or re-vaccination performed or for any 
certificate given under this Act, at the vaccination station: 
Provided that it shall be lawful fo r a public vacc inator to accept the 
fee prescribed by the State Government for vaccination or re -vaccination 
performed at the request of the guardian elsewhere than at the vaccination 
station. 
(2) Private vaccinators may charge the fee prescribed by the S tate 
Government for vaccination or re-vaccination. 
13. Duties of Superintendent of Vaccination. - The Superintendent 
of Vaccination, in addition to other duties imposed on him by or under the 
provisions of this Act, sha ll ascertain whether all the unprotec ted children 
within the local area have successfully undergone primary vaccina tion or re -
vaccination as heretofore required, and if he has reason to bel ieve that the 
guardian of any unprotected child has omitted to perform any duty imposed 
under this Act, he shall serve or cause to be served on the guardian of such 
child a notice requiring the child to be vaccinated or re -vaccinated or 
presented for inspection at the time and place to be specified in such notice. 
14. Order by magistrate when notice under section 13 is not 
obeyed.- If such notice is not complied with, the Superintendent of 
Vaccination shall r eport the matter to the Distri ct Magistrate or any other 
magistrate authorised by him in this behalf and the magistrate receiving such 
report shall summon the guardian of the child and demand his explanation and 
shall, if the explanation is not satisfactory, make an order in writing directing 
the guardian of the child to comply with the notice and produce a certificate of 
vaccination before the date specified in the order. If the order is not obeyed by 
such date, the magistrate shall deal with the disobedience as an of fence 
punishable under section 16 of this Act. 
15. Power to make rules. - (1) The State Government may, by 
notification, make rules for giving effect to the provisions of this Act. 
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the 
foregoing power, such rules may provide for:- 
6  THE HIMACHAL PRADESH VACCINATION ACT, 1968 
(a)  the division of a local area into circles for the performance of  
vaccination;  
(b)  the appointment of a place in each vaccination circle as a 
public vaccination station and the posting of some 
distinguishing  mark in a conspicuous place near the station; 
(c) the qualifications to be required for vaccinators a nd 
Superintendents of Vaccination; 
(d)  the authority competent to regulate the appointment, 
suspension and dismissal of public vaccinators and 
Superintendents of Vaccination;  
(e)  the time of attendance of public vaccinators at the vaccination 
station, and their residence within the limits of the 
vaccination circle ; 
(f)  the distinguishing mark or badge  to be worn by the public 
vaccinators and Superintendents of Vaccination; 
(g)  the conditions of licence granted to private vaccinators under 
section 6, and for the guidance of vaccina tor generally in the 
performance of their duties;  
(h) the facilities to be afforded to p ersons for procuring the 
vaccination of their children at their own houses; 
(i) the grant and form of c ertificates of  successful vaccination 
and of unfitness for vaccination ; 
(j))  the nature of the vaccine lymph to b e used and the supply of 
sufficient quantity of such lymph; 
(k)  the fee to be paid to a public vaccinator for vaccinating a 
person at a place other than the vaccination station or if such 
person is a child, at the request of his guardian or the fee to be 
paid to a private vaccinator under section 12 ; 
(1)  the preparation and keeping of registers showing,- 
(i)  the names of unprotected children, 
(ii)  the result of each vaccination or its postponement and 
the delivery of certificates, if any ; 
(m)  the assistance to be given by the members of a local authority 
and its servants in the preparation of these registers and in 
other matters ; 
(n)  the preparation of vaccination report and returns; and 
(o)  any other matter relating to the implementation of this Act. 
(3) Every rule made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be 
after it is made, before the Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh while it 
is in session for a total period of ten days, which may be comprised in one 
THE HIMACHAL PRADESH VACCINATION ACT, 1968   7 
session or in two successive sessions, and if, befor e the expiry of the session 
in which it is so laid or the session immediately following, the Legislative 
Assembly agrees in making any modification in the rule or decides that the 
rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only  in such 
modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be, so, however, that any 
such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the vali dity of 
anything previously done under that rule. 
16. Punishment of offences.- Whoever- 
(a)  violates the provisions of section 3 ; 
(b)  does not comply with the provisions o f sub -section (3) of 
section 7;  
(c)  neglects, without just excuse, to obey an order made under 
section 14;  
(d)  commits a breach of the rules made under section 15; or 
(e) neglects, withou t just cause, to obey an order made under 
section 14 after having been previously convicted of so 
neglecting to obey a similar order made in respect of the same 
child; 
shall be punishable as follows, namely- 
(i) in the case of the offence mentioned in clause (a), with simple 
imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, 
or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees, or with 
both; 
(ii)  in the case of the offences mentioned in clauses (b), (c) and 
(d), with fine which may extend to fifty rupees; and 
(iii)  in the case of the offence mentioned in clause (e), with simple 
imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or 
with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees , or with 
both. 
17. Local bodies to rec eive fees and meet expenditure. - The 
amount of all fees rea lised, and the amount of all expenditure incurred, under 
this Act in any local area, sha ll respectively be credited to, and paid from, the 
funds of the local authority concerned. 
18. Repeal and savings. - The enactments mentioned in schedule to  
this Act are repealed to the extent specified in the third column thereof with 
effect from the coming into force of this Act: 
Provided that anything done or any action taken (including any noti -
fication, direction, licence or notice issued, rules made and any proceedings 
commenced or continued) under any of the enactments hereby repealed shall 
be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provision of 
this Act. 
8  THE HIMACHAL PRADESH VACCINATION ACT, 1968 
19. Removal of difficulty. - If any difficulty arises in giving effect to 
the provisions of this Act, the State Gover nment may, by notification, make  
such provisions, or give such directions, not being inconsistent with the 
provisions of this Act, as may appear to it to be necessary or expedient for the 
removal of the difficulty. 
SCHEDULE 
(See section 18) 
 
Number and 
year 
Short title Extent of 
repeal 
1 2 3 
Act 13 of 1880  The Vaccination Act, 1880 as extended to 
Himachal Pradesh by the Merged State 
(Laws) Act, 1949 (59 of 1949) and as 
amended by the Vaccination (Himachal 
Pradesh Amendment) Act, 1955 (3 of 1956). 
 
The whole. 
Act No. 49 of 
1953 
The Punjab Vaccination Act, 1953 as in force 
in the territories transferred to Himachal  
Pradesh under section 5 of  the Punjab Re -
organisation Act, 1966  (31 of 1966). 
 
The whole. 
 

‹ Prev All Himachal Pradesh acts Next ›