Kerala makes vaccinations compulsory for school admissions

The Kerala government has recently made vaccination compulsory for school admissions to Class 1 from the 2018-’19 academic year. Parents will have to show details of immunization shots given to children during enrolment in school. The health minister of Kerala KK Shailaja has released the new health policy draft. The move comes in the wake of stiff opposition from certain communities against the vaccination drive. Other provisions of the new policy include a standard treatment guideline for all hospitals, including private institutions, and transgender clinics at all district hospitals. An antibiotic guidelines committee will also be formed to prepare a policy for antibiotics. The purpose of the new health draft policy is to reduce maternal mortality rate from 66 per lakh to 30 per lakh in the short term, and infant mortality from 12 per lakh to eight. It aims to reduce neonatal mortality from seven per lakh to five. The draft envisages a new Kerala Public Health Act to cover all issues in the health sector.