Kerala health minister warns of strict action against opponents of diphtheria vaccination

Kozhikode: Kerala Health and Social Welfare Minister KK Shylaja Teacher warned on Thursday that action will be taken against those who are campaigning against vaccination for diphtheria despite a two-phase awareness programme on it. The Health Department was trying to create an awareness about the benefits of vaccination after an enquiry on spread of communicable diseases like diphtheria which claimed lives of some children in Malappuram district disclosed that the victims had not been vaccinated, she told a meet-the-press in Kozhikode. [caption id=“attachment_2880112” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Discussions with religious organisations also showed they were not against the vaccination, the minister said. She said legal action would be initiated against those disrupting health workers involved in the vaccination programme. Recently, the Kerala Human Rights Commission has ordered the government to make immunisation mandatory for getting admission in educational institutions, including schools. The direction was given in the wake of return of diphtheria, a disease believed to have been completely eradicated in Kerala through vaccination, in Malappuram, where a section of people are reportedly reluctant to undergo immunisation drives. Two children had died and eight others were affected with diphtheria in the last one month in Malappuram. The commission had also said steps should be taken to examine if school-going children were fully immunised and asked the government to take action action against the outfits campaigning against immunisation.