Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who arrived in Kerala with a team on Monday to review the COVID-19 situation in the state, said that the Union government has allocated Rs 267.35 crore to the state to strengthen its health infrastructure and will also provide it 1.11 crore vaccines in August and September. He also lauded Kerala for the steps it took against COVID-19 spread and called the state’s healthcare system excellent. In a tweet, subsequent to his "intensive" meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and state Health Minister Veena George, Mandaviya said that besides the Rs 267.35 crore an additional Rs one crore would be made available to each district of Kerala for creating a medicine pool.
He also said that the Union government has assured all possible help to Kerala, including providing vaccines to the state. Later, the Kerala Public Relations Department (PRD) said that Mandaviya assured that the Union government will take steps to provide the 1.11 crore vaccines urgently needed to combat COVID-19 as was requested by the CM. Mandaviya also tweeted that the Union government “will ensure creation of a Center of Excellence that caters to Telemedicine Facilities in every district in Kerala. For prioritising the health of children, paediatric ICU to be established in district hospitals with a 10 kilo-litre liquid oxygen storage tank facility."
After the meeting with the Kerala CM and Health Minister, Mandaviya also met Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and discussed the measures taken by the Union government to support Kerala’s fight against the pandemic. He also tweeted that he toured the Hindustan Latex Ltd (HLL) unit in Thiruvananthapuram, reviewed its operations and also took stock of the quality of medical products being manufactured there and also visited the COVID-19 facility at the Government Medical College in the state capital.
It was discussed during the meeting between the Union government team, the CM and state health minister that a vaccine manufacturing unit shall be started at the Bio Park in Thiruvananthapuram, said a statement by the PRD. The union minister said that such an establishment would be beneficial as both COVID-19 and other vaccines can be produced there. During the meeting, the CM said that 56% of the population was still unaffected by COVID-19 in Kerala and therefore, more people were likely to get infected in the coming days. In such a scenario the only way out was to vaccinate everyone, including one million guest workers, which is why more vaccines are needed, the CM said.
In the meeting, Mandaviya said that the Union government was trying to provide necessary assistance to all the state governments and his current visit was part of the same, the PRD said. According to the PRD, the union minister said that in August, 18 crore vaccines were produced and 20 crore more will be manufactured in September. Kerala will get the number of doses it deserves and any additional demands would be considered sympathetically, he said.
Earlier in the day, the PRD said that Mandaviya lauded the coronavirus prevention steps taken by the state government. He also termed the healthcare system in Kerala as "excellent" and assured availability of more vaccines for Kerala, and praised the lack of vaccine wastage by the state by saying that it has set an example with regard to administration of doses.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan also said that Kerala was ahead of the national average in vaccination and the death rate was low. He also said that more attention should be paid during Onam and that those who are in home quarantine should be monitored separately. Mandaviya and team visited Kerala at a time when it was accounting for more than half of the nation's daily fresh infection caseload. The state on Sunday reported 12,294 new COVID-19 cases.