Vaccination certificate soon to be must for school admission in Kerala

The Kerala cabinet recently approved a draft medical policy which necessitates all students seeking admission to produce a vaccination card, said state Health Minister K.K. Shailaja in Thiruvananthapuram.

Sharing the draft with the media, she said that the new policy would revitalise the health sector.

Shailaja said the other major highlights in the draft policy include autonomy for the State-run medical colleges, primary health centres in the State to function till 6 p.m, separate clinics for transgenders, and a training programme for the common public who will be trained in trauma care so as to act quickly when an accident occurs.

According to the basic health protocol presently in the State, vaccination for babies, starting from two months, includes those against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, mumps, rubella and polio.

The draft policy was prepared by a team of 17 experts, which was led by eminent neurosurgeon and Kerala University's former Vice-Chancellor B. Iqbal.

The 'International Certificate of Vaccination', or the 'Yellow Card' as it is commonly referred to, is a yellow document designed to fit into a passport. After immunisation, the health specialist will fill out and sign a card that will be validated with an official stamp by the health specialist. It is approved by the World Health Organization as the official document verifying that proper procedures were followed in administering vaccinations for foreign travel and is used to demonstrate receipt of required vaccinations for entry into foreign countries.

Any person, foreigner or Indian, (excluding infants below six months) arriving by air or sea without a vaccination certificate of yellow fever will be kept in quarantine isolation for a period up to six days.

With inputs from IANS

Do you have an interesting story to share? Please write to us at [email protected]. To stay updated with more positive news, please connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.