Kerala: Health Minister warns of legal action against anti-vaccination campaign

KOZHIKODE: Health Minister K.K. Shylaja has warned of stringent action against the anti-vaccination campaign being carried out by an entrenched lobby comprising  naturopaths, homoeopaths and religious cadres.  The priority of the government was  to conduct awareness campaigns, she  said.

“The parents would be told about the importance of taking immunisation through health workers and officers. All measures should be focused on this.  If  the anti-campaign persists, it will be  faced legally,” she said  and added that the religious organisations had informed the government that they were not against vaccination. “The government has ordered to provide  booster vaccination to all people in the diphtheria affected areas of Malappuram and Kozhikode,” she said.

The government wants to raise the standards of five medical colleges to centres of excellence, she said.  The  Kozhikode medical college hospital (MCH) would be upgraded to the status of AIIMS. Ms Shylaja lamented that the government sector was  facing an acute shortage of doctors in specialty cadres.

“Though the government had sent appointment orders  to 200 doctors,  only 54 have joined. As many as 700 vacancies of physicians are existing  now. There are primary health centres sans any doctor,” she said.  The government has plans to make each PHC as a family health centre, she said. Earlier, the  minister visited Aswathi, the ragging victim,  at MCH and offered all help. She was  fast recuperating, said Ms Shylaja.

Make vaccination birthright: IAP
In the wake of the re-emergence of preventable deadly diseases like diphtheria in Malappuram and Kozhikode district, the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) has asked the government to declare vaccinations the birthright of a child.

“The violation of this right should be the same as the violation of rights of children. Legal actions should also be taken against anti-vaccination campaigners who have a free run in these areas,” office bearers of IAP Kerala chapter said at a press conference here on Thursday.

“We ask the government to deploy sufficient health workers in proportion to the population of Malappuram. The lack of enough field staff under the district health department has a negative impact on the ongoing immunisation drive in the district,” said Dr Ananda Kesavan, head of the immunisation committee of the IAP, Kerala.