Keralam Health Minister K. Muraleedharan pushes for disease prevention through vaccination

K. Muraleedharan | Photo Credit: SPECAIL ARRANGEMENT Health Minister K. Muraleedharan on Monday (October 5, 2026) inaugurated an Integrated Public Health Laboratory and District Vaccine and Family Welfare Store in Thrissur, strengthening the district’s infrastructure for disease surveillance, early diagnosis, immunisation and the safe storage and distribution of vaccines and essential medicines.The government’s priority is to prevent disease, not just treatment, the Minister said, urging the public to fully cooperate with vaccination programmes, including those against HPV and measles.Mr. Muraleedharan also announced tighter regulation of the private healthcare sector, saying the government will not allow hospitals to arbitrarily increase treatment charges or add unnecessary medicines to patients’ bills.“The government respects the services rendered by the private sector in healthcare. However, some private institutions cannot be allowed to arbitrarily inflate treatment charges or add medicines unnecessarily to patients’ bills,” he said.A special committee had been constituted to examine treatment charges and services offered by private healthcare institutions, the Minister said. Private hospitals and other healthcare establishments would be required to comply with government norms and regulations to continue their operations. The government would take steps to ensure that patients were not subjected to unreasonable charges or unnecessary interventions, he added.Availability of medicinesOn concerns about the availability of medicines in the State, Mr. Muraleedharan said reports suggesting a widespread shortage were misleading. Temporary disruptions in the supply of certain medicines had occurred following the conflict in West Asia and the withdrawal of some suppliers, he said.Steps have been taken through the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd. (KMSCL) to procure medicines quickly from other States and restore supplies. Hospitals had also been permitted to directly procure locally required medicines through their Hospital Development Societies and Hospital Management Committees. A special committee had been constituted to continuously assess medicine availability, he said.The Minister called for coordinated action by local bodies, Water Resources department and educational institutions to strengthen preventive measures against communicable diseases such as dengue and chikungunya. The departments and institutions should work closely with the Health Department, particularly in eliminating mosquito-breeding sites and addressing conditions conducive to the spread of disease.The Food Safety department will conduct stringent inspections to ensure the hygiene and quality of food served to schoolchildren, he said.Mr. Muraleedharan said government services at public hospitals would not suffer from staff shortages, and the government would ensure patient care and hospital functioning are not affected. Published - October 06, 2026 08:01 pm IST