THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The health department will constitute an expert committee to study the quality of anti-rabies vaccines distributed in the state, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed the assembly on Tuesday. The decision was taken in the wake of the concerns among the public about rabies deaths, the CM said.
His rejoinder came close on the heels of Health Minister Veena George’s response to the Opposition MLAs’ demand for discussion of the rabies deaths in the state through an adjournment motion. Though the Opposition pointed out the concerns over the quality of anti-rabies vaccine used in the state, the minister harped on procurement rules. The CM’s intervention was welcomed quickly by Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan. He cited his concerns over the distribution and quality of anti-rabies vaccines supplied by the Kerala Medical Services Corporation (KMSCL).
“The vaccine was found to be effective earlier and the number of people dying of rabies was few. However, such deaths have been widely reported since 2020. The death rate has increased because of the poor quality of the vaccine, poor distribution and delay in procuring it. Due to the delay, KMSCL procured vaccines which were not tested for quality at the Central Drugs Laboratory and distributed them.
When it became controversial, the KMSCL purchased vaccines of questionable quality from Tamil Nadu,” he said. “The health department has not checked the quality of the vaccine even when people who have taken it die of rabies. As the cases of dog bites increased, the elderly, women and children are fearful of getting out of their houses,” he said. Satheesan blamed the government for the poor implementation of the Animal Birth Control programme (ABC) for the increase in dog bite cases.